Chrono Gaiden
by B the Blue
Summary: When a mysterious sorcerer calling himself Xavius kidnaps Gina, Flare must risk everything to save the woman he loves in this Chrono Trigger prequel. It's finally time to hear the story of Crono's long lost father.
1. Taban’s New Invention

**Chapter ****1: ****Taban****'****s New Invention**

"Flare…"

"Flare…"

"Come on Flare…wake up!"

The young man grunted something that was still too sleepy sounding to be considered words as he rolled over in a futile attempt to ignore his waker. Unfortunately the girl proved to be persistent, more persistent even, than he was stubborn.

Flare brushed his unkempt, flame red hair out of his eyes as he gazed up at the girl who had just woke him from what was now a rapidly fading dream. His face brightened quickly once his mind had cleared enough to recognize her.

Gina stood beside his bed, arms crossed over her chest, a look of exaggerated motherly sternness on her pretty face. Her long ash blonde hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. She had on a plain dress, the same shade of blue-gray as her stunning eyes, if not anything fancy.

"C'mon now, you didn't need to wake me in such a rude fashion," he said with mock annoyance.

"And how else am I supposed to wake the deepest sleeper in all of Guardia?" she retorted.

"I am _not_ the deepest sleeper in all of Guardia," he said. "In all of Truce maybe, but not all of Guardia."

She couldn't suppress her giggles or her smile. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek she started for the door. "Hurry up and get dressed. We're supposed to go visit Taban today, and we're already running late. I'll be waiting downstairs with Tai."

Flare gave a great yawn as he pulled himself out of his bed. As much as he wanted to slip back into his dream world, they had promised Taban that they'd come and visit today. Though he might not have been great at remembering his appointments, he wasn't one to break a promise. Especially not a promise made to a friend.

He got dressed quickly. After throwing on a clean pair of pants and a halfway clean shirt he wasted no time in lacing up his boots and tying his lucky white bandanna around his head.

Flare walked down the stairs to the bottom floor of the orphanage. For as long as he could remember he had lived in the Truce Orphanage with his best friend Tai. The two of them were both fast approaching eighteen, so they would have to leave soon. Not that it mattered much to Flare. To them the orphanage was just a place to sleep at night. They had spent most of their young lives hanging out with that egghead Taban, playing with Gina, or being trained in the way of the sword by Refla.

They had met Refla nearly eight years ago, and he had been training them ever since. Flare and Tai had dreamed of joining the Guardian Royal Army for as long as they could remember. They craved the excitement and adventure that came along with being a knight, and Refla had done everything in his power to help them reach their goal.

They planned to enlist later on in the summer, once they had both reached legal adulthood. With a little luck achieving even the coveted position of Royal Guard was a real possibility for both of the young men. Their skill was without question, and as they got a little real life experience they could go far in the military.

For the time being, all thoughts of becoming a soldier abandoned Flare. Right now all that was on his mind was visiting Taban, probably sitting through a drawn out explanation of whatever new invention he had dreamed up, and spending the day with his two best friends, Tai and Gina.

Even though Gina wasn't from the orphanage, she had befriended Flare and Tai when they were children, and throughout the years her relationship with Flare had grown beyond simple friendship. He planned on asking for her hand in marriage as soon as he was accepted as a soldier, giving him the means to support a family.

To Flare the future was indeed a bright and shining thing.

Tai and Gina were waiting for their sleepy friend at the front door. Unlike Flare whose red hair was long and routinely disheveled, Tai's own brown hair was cut short and easily maintained relative neatness. He was shorter and stockier than Flare, standing only an inch or two taller than Gina.

"It's already almost midday. How much does one guy need to sleep?" asked Tai as his friend rubbed the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

"More than I'm getting now," Flare replied through one final yawn. "Okay, let's go and see what our pal Taban has cooked up for us this time."

* * *

Taban Ashtear's house was south of Truce on a small island that had been connected to the shore by a long wooden bridge. Taban came from a long line of craftsmen. He claimed to be able to trace his genealogy back over four centuries to when an ancestor of his had crafted the famous Leene's Bell. Taban's father and grandfather had built the bridge that connected the small island to the coast, and now Taban had become a craftsman himself. Both a blacksmith and an inventor.

Even starting their trek from the orphanage, which was located in the southern reaches of Truce, the walk to Taban's house took over an hour. If it wasn't so far out of the way Flare supposed he'd end up visiting a lot more.

The house itself was a large two story building. Excluding the additions that Taban had made, the house had also been built by his father and grandfather.

The yard was cluttered with random gadgets and machines that Taban had built. For that matter, the house itself was just as cluttered with gizmos as the yard was. "It's amazing that Lara can live with this mad scientist pack rat," Flare grumbled as he stepped carefully around something that looked suspiciously like a giant mouse trap.

"Oh come on Flare, Taban's a really great guy and you know it," Gina scolded, wading through a pile of automatic shoe polishing dishwashers that Taban had made the year before.

"Yeah, I do know that he's a great guy. That's why I walk all the way down here and make my way through his maze of misfit inventions just to see him," Flare retorted.

Instead of knocking, Flare pressed the large red button that rang Taban's door bell. After a few moments of waiting, Flare pressed the button again. From the inside of the house they could hear the whine of Taban's large self made generator, and past that they could here Taban himself yell something that sounded a bit like, "Coming!"

The door swung open and the eccentric inventor walked out to greet his friends. Standing a couple inches over six feet, Taban was a tall man. He was several years older than his three young friends and currently had the startings of a beard, likely from staying up all night to work on his newest invention, growing on his face.

"Good to see all of you! I've got a great surprise today. C'mon you've got to see it," Taban said, speaking quickly.

The three friends followed him into the large living room where he grabbed a small square object off of his work desk.

"I call this a camera!" he said dramatically as he held it out towards them.

"And what exactly does it do, this camera?" asked Tai after a short silence.

"Well, it takes pictures of things. I can just aim it at what I want to take, and then I hit this here button. It's like getting an instant portrait!"

Flare and the others looked intrigued by this latest toy. "How's it do that?" Flare asked but then said, "Never mind. I don't want to know how it works. Just show us, okay?"

Taban ushered them next to the wall and walked across the room where he raised the camera to his eye. "Okay, now stand still."

When Taban pressed on the button there was a bright flash that left Flare, Gina, and Tai blinking and rubbing their eyes.

"What in the blazes was that?" asked Flare as he tried to blink the large purple spot out of his vision.

"Did it work?" asked Gina, but as soon as their eyesight had returned to them they saw Taban frowning down at the camera in his hands.

"It wasn't supposed to flash that bright. It busted out the entire bulb too," he muttered absently, having already taken the camera apart and tinkering with the insides.

"You mean it didn't work?" said Tai.

"Sorry, afraid not," apologized a rather down looking Taban.

Flare let out a low moan and slumped into a chair. "So what your saying is that you brought us out here just to blind us?"

"I'm really sorry about this. I honestly thought I had all the bugs worked out. Well since you're all here why not join me and Lara for lunch? Or are you too busy today?"

Flare's face lit up at once. "Too busy? I'll never be so busy that I'd pass up Lara's cooking!"

"Is your stomach all you think with, Flare?" Gina asked, throwing a sideways glance at his direction.

"I'm hungry, what's so wrong with that?" he asked looking a little hurt.

Taban laughed at the two of them. "The two of you fight more than me and Lara do, and you're not even married yet."

"Alas, why'd I have to fall for such a dope?" Gina sighed. "I guess Flare is right though. I'm pretty hungry too."

The others didn't argue as they made their way into the kitchen and sat down for lunch.

* * *

Flare dropped his silverware onto the table and sighed with contentment. "Wow Lara, your cooking never fails to impress."

"Why thank you, Flare. It's always nice to have your cooking complimented," Taban's wife said smiling.

"Yes, thanks for the meal, Lara," Tai added as he too finished.

Gina who had finished some time before was mildly impressed with the amount of food that her two friends could eat. It was a good thing that Lara had cooked a surplus amount of food. While Taban had also gone for seconds, Flare and Tai had finished nearly six helpings between the two of them.

"How can you two eat that much without getting sick?" Gina asked in amazement.

Taban gave a hearty laugh and slapped Flare on the shoulder. "Growing boys!" he announced. "I remember when I was their age, not that it was too long ago, I could eat my parents out of house and home."

"Well, at least you guys shouldn't be hungry again until sometime next week," Gina said with a laugh.

"Or at least until dinner," Flare compromised.

After the meal Flare and Tai insisted that Lara let them do the dishes. After a bit of resisting she agreed to let them help her out. Taban had already gone back to work on the camera and Gina wrapped the remaining leftovers in foil and sat them inside the fridge.

"Taban, I almost forgot. Do you have any of that shampoo left? My mother was wanting to buy a couple bottles of it from you," Gina said as she sat the last foil covered plate into the fridge.

Taban, who was just as good with inventing formulas and chemicals as he was at inventing machines, thought for a moment and then pointed to a large bookshelf that was full of various bottles and cans. "Yeah, there should be a bottle or two left on that shelf."

"Thanks," she replied as she began rummaging through the various containers.

"Wait, not that one, Gina," Taban said as she picked up a small red bottle. "That stuff is designed to kill hair at the roots. It makes you go bald and stay bald. Wouldn't want to give a bottle of that to your mom."

"That would be bad," she agreed, finally picking a green bottle that had the words _Vitamin Shampoo _written on it. "Is this it?" she asked showing him the bottle.

He glanced up from the camera just long enough to check out the bottle. "Yep, that looks like the right one."

Flare who had been listening to the conversation turned his head so he could look at the red bottle of hair killing solution. "What on earth would possess you to make something that makes you go bald permanently," he asked. "Who would even want to use something like that?"

"Well, your friend and mentor Refla for one," Taban replied. "Sometimes people just like the 'no hair' hair style. And I imagine shaving your head everyday can be a real pain."

"You'll never catch me using that stuff," Flare said, returning to the dishes.

Tai nodded his head in agreement then said with a chuckle, "But I can't really imagine Refla with hair. Can you Flare?"

Flare laughed too. He had the fleeting mental image of their fierce teacher with a head full of curly blond locks. Come to think of it, neither Flare nor Tai had ever seen Refla with hair. From the first time they had met the grizzly looking man he had been completely bald. He didn't even have eyebrows. When his students had asked him about it he told them it was to add to the fierceness of his appearance.

Not that he needed to look any fiercer. The man was covered from head to toe with battle scars. The first time that the two boys had seen him without his shirt they had gasped in shock. His upper body was a canvas of crisscrossing scars. The fact that he had sustained so many injuries and survived was evidence of the man's toughness.

After all the dish washing was finished, Flare and Tai bid their friends goodbye. It was early afternoon and Refla had been training them harder than ever in the recent months.

"I think I'll stay and visit a while longer," Gina decided.

"Okay, see you later," Flare said giving her a quick kiss goodbye, then he and Tai started the journey back to Truce.

* * *

The man sat beside a small grove of old elms, using their shade to keep cool in the midsummer sun. He watched the two boys leave the house. One of them had wild and messy red hair; the other had short brown hair. These two had accompanied the girl into the house earlier that very day.

It mattered not. Nothing that they could do would be able to stop him if he chose to kill the both of them, but for the time being he had no desire for either of their deaths. All that he wanted was the girl. She was the _Key_. A shiver of excitement ran down his spine as he thought of how far he had come. How very close he was! All of his planning and studying would pay off very soon.

The two boys passed in front of him, not twenty feet away. He didn't hide though. There was no need to hide when one could make oneself invisible.


	2. The Man in Black

**Chapter 2: The Man in Black**

Blankets of sweat dropped from Flare's brow. Despite their efforts to show up for practice on time, he and Tai had been late, and showing up late for training meant only one thing to old Refla. It meant that you must feel guilty about not being able to tell time. So guilty that you would want to train especially hard to make up for your guilt.

Flare's whole body began to shake as he forced it to do another sit up. All of his muscles were resisting, but Flare had long since learned that you can make your muscles listen. You could go past the point of exhaustion, and past your physical limit, once you'd learned to command your muscles.

His body continued to shake as his weary muscles lifted him into a sitting position yet again. How many sit ups had he done already? He had stopped counting around one hundred. Was he at a hundred and fifty? Two hundred? And all of this was preceded by the pushups, the pull-ups, leg squats, knee bends, jumping jacks, and the countless string of other exercises that Refla had dreamed up. Flare was now regretting the large lunch that had seemed so good earlier.

"That's enough! Stop!" Boomed the voice of their mentor, trainer, and most recently, tormentor.

Flare let out an enormous sigh of relief as his body thudded unceremoniously to the ground. His muscles burned. Not just some of his muscles, but _all_ of his muscles. His arms burned, his legs burned, his lungs burned, and everything in between. A glance to his right confirmed that Tai was enjoying a similar agony.

"The two of ye can stand up now. I think ye're over yer guilt," Refla said.

"Yes sir," both Flare and Tai chanted weakly as they struggled to their feet.

The stern and scarred warrior looked over his two students as they stood, wobbly legged, before him. "Now why'd ye have to go and forget how to tell time?"

"We were…we were at…," Flare started to say through his labored breathing.

"At where?" Refla asked as his student tried to catch his breath.

"…At Taban's house," Flare finished.

"Doing?" prompted the curious trainer.

"He was…sh-showing us…his new invention," stammered Tai, who was breathing just as hard has his friend was.

"Calls it…a…a camera," put in Flare.

A strange emotion briefly flashed through Refla's face at the mention of the camera. "Showed me the damn thing too. Flash nearly blinded me."

Despite their current state of exhaustion both Flare and Tai managed a good laugh at that. "Us too," said Flare.

Refla glanced up at the sun, gauging its position. "Might as well come in for a bit. I'll cook dinner and we'll have a bite to eat." With that the rough and weathered sword master walked into his house.

* * *

There was roughly an hour of good daylight remaining when the girl finally left the inventor's house and started the walk back to Truce. The man in the small grove of elms was once again taken by shivers of excitement. The day had arrived! The hour had arrived! Now he would start his quest, truly start it. A quest that would begin with this girl. This girl who was the _Key_.

His face broke into a wide lunatic's smile as she continued to approach him. As she continued to approach her fate.

* * *

Gina had stayed over with Taban and Lara longer than she intended. When she finally noticed the clock, it was already a quarter-till-eight. Having no real desire to walk back, alone in the dark, she bid her farewells and headed home.

She wished that Flare was with her to walk her home. The long walk from Taban's house was pretty dull if you didn't have a friend to chat with, and though she wouldn't admit it, at least not to anybody but herself, it could be plenty frightening in the dark. Figuring that the day had about an hour left of light in it, she quickened her pace, hoping to beat the sun home.

Shortly after passing a small grove of trees, she got the strangest feeling of being followed, but the ground was mostly level and she could see a good distance in every direction. Not seeing anyone, she passed the feeling off as paranoia, and scolded herself for being silly. The sensation of being followed; however, continued to persist.

The sensation grew, second by second, becoming increasingly more oppressive, until it pressed in around her like a physical thing. As the sensation reached its apex Gina had taken all she could stand of the ridiculous paranoia. She spun around and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I know you're there! I can hear your foot steps! So why not come out and stop sneaking around!"

Only silence answered her cry. This wasn't surprising, since she did not in fact hear footsteps. She didn't hear anything besides the soft hiss of the wind. Feeling a little safer and more than a bit foolish, she decided that she must have imagined the whole thing and turned back around.

Gina gave a startled cry that was half surprise and half fright as she stumbled backwards. A man was facing her, standing less than a dozen feet away. He shouldn't be there! People don't just appear out of thin air! All of her senses screamed those thoughts, but the man standing in front of her was very real.

He was dressed entirely in black. Black pants, black shirt, black boots, even a long black cape. A cape! He was tall and thin, not sickly and skinny, but a healthy sort of trim. His undeniably handsome face was drawn up in a wide smile that had a half-crazed look to it. His eyes were like dark black pits, and his hair was a shining black.

Shining! The man's hair was actually reflecting the diminishing sunlight with an eerie brightness. It wasn't glowing with an inner light, but was reflecting the light like some kind of black mirror. And his eyes! The half-crazed look of his smile did not reach his eyes. They were calm eyes, sane eyes, and this somehow made him all the more frightening.

"Who are you?" Gina demanded backing away and fighting to keep the panic out of her voice. "Who are you and what do you want?"

The man in black laughed. It was a high pitched and cold laugh that made her skin crawl. He gave an exaggerated bow. "How rude of me. My dear, you may call me Xavius. And what do I want? Well, I should think it obvious! I want you."

"I'll scream," she warned, hating how helpless she was. What kind of threat was that? Screaming? Maybe that was even what he wanted her to do. After all, there was no one around to hear.

"You could," he agreed, confirming her fears. "But who would hear you?"

"Taban would. His house is still in sight," she replied, knowing very well that he would not.

"With all the humming, and racket that his machines make? Never," Xavius said as he took a step closer to her. "And you are too far away from Truce."

"I'll run. I'm fast and you'll never catch me." Again she cursed her helplessness.

Xavius laughed his high and cold laugh again. "Yes, you can run, and you can scream. Go ahead. Try."

Desperate and panicked, she decided to run. Maybe she really could outrun him. She doubted it, but it was her only choice. Then to her absolute horror she found that she couldn't lift her feet off of the ground. Gina twisted and struggled, but her feet felt as if they had taken root with the earth.

Xavius continued to laugh as she struggled with her immobilized legs. He walked up to her, his piercing cold laugh ringing in her ears, and the closer he got the less she could move. By the time he was standing in front of her, she was completely paralyzed. She just stood staring straight ahead and screaming. No, not screaming. Gina suddenly realized that she couldn't scream. She hadn't screamed at all. Her voice was as lost to her as her ability to move.

"Oh, it appears that I may have lied to you," chuckled Xavius as he caressed the side of her face. "You can't run, and you can't scream. You are powerless against me. Everyone, is powerless against me."

Gina was revolted by his touch. She thought that the combination of his touch and his laugh would drive her mad. Fear began welling inside of her, mingling with panic until it started to overwhelm her senses. The worst part was that she couldn't scream. She had no way to vent her fear.

"Calm down. I can see that you are frightened." The sorcerer spoke soft and soothingly. "I won't hurt you. To me you are very, very important."

To her astonishment she started to calm down as he spoke. It seemed that his very words carried magic.

"I can see that you will not willingly aid me, and that is fine. You will do as I say, as long as you are under my spell, and you will be under it until I release you. Something that I will not be doing anytime soon."

Gina wanted to fight back, but she couldn't keep her focus on anything. Her mind started to feel muddy. Her hands and fingers went numb, followed by her arms, soon her entire body was beyond feeling.

Her hearing went next. At least now she didn't have to hear his laugh anymore. The last thing that went was her vision. Large dark splotches that looked a bit like mud, began appearing in front of her. It wasn't long until it had all gone dark. Her consciousness lasted only a little while longer, then she remembered no more.

Xavius smiled as her eyes dulled. They no longer held a look of coherence and understanding. She was under his complete control now.

"Follow me," he commanded.

Xavius turned towards Truce. The port was where he needed to go now. As he headed off to his destination, his body once again faded from view. Onlookers would see only a teenage girl walking by herself. They would have no idea that she was following an invisible man.

* * *

By the time Flare and Tai were served dinner they were starving again. Their master's wife, Shara, was away visiting her old home in Porre, so it fell upon the grizzly sword master to cook dinner. Though Refla took longer to prepare a meal than his wife would have, he was still a competent cook. The boys ate their fill as Refla told them stories of his past adventures and battles. They had heard these stories countless times before. Flare and Tai could have listened to him for days on end in their younger years, and even now the stories didn't get old.

When they finally left his house, the sun was already setting.

Refla bid them farewell and settled down into a meditative trance. Meditating was something he often encouraged the two boys to do, but Flare thought that hell would likely freeze over before he learned to meditate properly. If he was planning on sitting around, doing nothing, he might as well just go to sleep.

The orphanage was located on the far south eastern section of the city, right alongside the coast. "I want nothing more than to sleep for a good twelve or twenty hours," muttered Flare as they approached the large wooden building that served as the Truce Orphanage.

"Yeah, me too-hey! Isn't that Gina?" Tai pointed down the alleyway next to the orphanage, and sure enough, there was Gina heading toward the docks.

Flare squinted in the fading light, then nodded. There was no doubt, it was Gina.

"What do you suppose she's doing at the docks this time of the day?" asked Tai.

Flare shrugged. "'Dunno, maybe she's picking something up for Taban or her parents. Let's go say hi."

They quickened there pace to catch up, when they got into shouting distance Flare called out, "Hey Gina! What ya up to?"

Apparently not hearing, she walked on until she came to a long wooden dock, that had dozens of row boats tied onto it.

Speeding up even more, they reached the dock as she sat herself into a small row boat and began untying it .

"Gina, what are you doing?" Flare called out again.

Still seeming not to hear she finished freeing the boat and grabbed an oar. Wasting no time, she began rowing out to sea.

"What the hell?" Tai asked in confusion.

Flare ran to the end of the dock, now he was within twenty yards from her, and yelled again this time more urgently. "Hey Gina! Is something the matter?" Then more frustrated at the continued silence. "Answer me! What are you doing with that boat?"

But Gina didn't even notice him. Instead she kept rowing further away from the shoreline. Tai caught up to Flare and asked, "What's going on? This is really getting weird."

"I don't know what's up, but Gina's not acting right. It was like she didn't even know I was there. And where is she heading with that boat?"

"What should we do?" Tai asked.

"I'm following her," Flare stated without hesitation.

"Huh? How? We can't swim. After the workout Refla gave us, we couldn't swim for five minutes before we drowned."

"So we'll take a boat," Flare said simply.

"We're going to steal a boat?" Tai asked apprehensively.

"She did." Flare said as he hopped into a row boat similar to the one Gina had just taken. "You coming?"

Tai glanced around nervously, then followed his friend into the boat. "Okay, I'm in."

Flare nodded as he handed Tai an oar.


	3. The Haunted Isle

**Chapter 3: The Haunted Isle**

Flare had hoped to catch Gina's boat right away. He figured even though Tai and himself were exhausted, they'd still be able to catch up to her. After all, they had two people paddling to her one; however, Gina's boat moved with uncanny speed, away from the coast, and further out to the deeper waters of the sea.

"How…how is she moving so fast?" panted Tai. It took all that the two of them could muster just to keep up with her.

Flare shook his head. He was wondering the same thing. There was no way for Gina to out paddle them both. Even if they were both exhausted, it just wasn't possible. Thanks to their hard, occasionally harsh, training at the hands of Refla, the two of them were at peak physical condition.

"Paddle harder," directed Flare. "The sun's almost gone, and if we don't stay close we'll lose her in the dark."

They both gave a burst of energy that pushed their boat forward with enough speed to keep Gina in sight. It wasn't long before the sun completely vanished, and they could barely make out the form of her stolen boat in the starlight.

They paddled in silence as the coast grew smaller and smaller. Even if they had wanted to speak, they didn't have the breath to waste on words. Soon the lights from the coast were difficult to make out, even in the dark of night. How far had they gone? It felt like they had been paddling their stolen boat for over an hour.

"She's stopping," Tai announced with an audible sigh of relief. "It looks like she's come to an island or something."

"Wait," said Flare. "The only island that should be around here is Ratcleff Isle."

"That's right," Tai agreed, and then added with a touch of unease. "Isn't it suppose to be haunted or something?"

"That's what they say, but it doesn't matter. Something's not right, and I intended on finding out what's going on."

Up ahead they could see Gina climbing out of her boat and onto the sandy beach of the supposedly haunted island. Many centuries ago the island had been named after the Ratcleff Fortress that was built upon it. At the start of the Mystic War a band of mystics had laid siege to the fortress, slaughtering its human occupants. It was rumored to be haunted ever since, and nobody human or mystic had claimed the isle thereafter.

By the time they reached the isle themselves, Gina had already vanished beyond their field of vision. The island seemed to be unnaturally dark, and the air had a damp chilling quality that made Flare think of graveyards. "Hey Gina! Where'd you go?" He called into the darkness.

Getting no response, the two tired, worried, and cold friends climbed from their stolen boat and onto the island shore. The air seemed to stand perfectly still, but even without a breeze the air was cold and wet. The only sound that could be heard as they marched through the darkness was the soft crunching of sand underneath their feet.

Tai shivered in the chill night air. He wished that he had brought his jacket, but there had been no way of knowing that they'd end up on the supposedly haunted island, miles away from shore. Worse than the cold, though, was the creepy atmosphere that the island gave off. It seemed to ooze from the darkness like a foul stench. A foul, yet somehow odorless stench.

"Something doesn't seem right," whispered Tai. Why he chose to whisper he couldn't say. Anything on the island would already know of their arrival, due to Flare's first call to Gina.

"Nothing seems right," corrected Flare. "This island, the way Gina's acting, this damned darkness. Where the hell'd all the stars go?"

Tai just shrugged at Flare's rhetorical question. A gesture that was all but pointless in the suffocating dark.

Now they traveled in complete silence. They had cleared the sandy beach and were now walking through grass. Tai realized just how comforting the soft crunch-crunch of the sand really had been. The silence was now as deep and unnatural as the dark, and what made it worse was that both seemed, impossibly, to be deepening.

Each step they took seemed to make things a little darker and a little quieter. It felt as if they were walking into a gaping black hole. The world behind them was long gone, and from here all they could do was walk further into oblivion.

Tai couldn't take it anymore. "Gina! We know you're on this island! Answer us! Say something! Anything!" He shouted without expecting a response. He was desperate to break the silence. If he didn't shout, he thought he might start screaming instead.

But he did get a response, not the verbal kind, not even a nonverbal noise. Instead, a bright bluish light burst from the darkness, a mere fifty or sixty yards away.

They could now see through the seemingly endless dark. Not just in front of them, but all around them. It was like the bluish light had caused the very stars to snap back into the sky. They stood before a large crumbling gateway that led into the ruins of a stone fortress.

"I'll be damned," muttered Flare. "It's the ruins of Ratcleff Fortress."

"Never thought I'd be here, especially not at night," admitted Tai.

They entered the gateway and walked into ruins. The light was coming from a room further in. Flare led the way through the deserted hallway, and into the very gut of the forsaken place. With light returned to the world, the silence also vanished. Their boots had started making reassuring clicks against the stone floor.

At last they came to the room where the light had come from. It was a large room that at some point must have served as a grand meeting hall. The light was being emitted from iron torches that were placed around the outline of the room in a circular pattern. Standing in the middle of the torch lit room was Gina.

Flare cautiously stepped into the room and called out softly, almost fearing that his very breath might extinguish the torches and plunge them back into the darkness. "Hey Gina, it's me, Flare. What's going on? What's the matter?"

"Nothing is the matter, Flare. What would give you that impression?" a voice answered.

Flare jumped. The voice had come from Gina's direction, but it wasn't Gina. This was a high cold voice, not a thing like Gina's, which brought a smile to Flare's face whenever he heard it. No, this voice was cold and mocking. Its very sound made Flare shiver. Not only that, but the voice belonged to a man, undeniably so.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Flare demanded, scanning the room to see where the mystery voice had originated from.

"I'm right here. Can you not see me, Flare? I'm right in front of you." Even as the voice began to speak, a form started taking shape along side of Gina. By time it had finished speaking, a man stood to the right of Gina's unmoving body.

Both Flare and Tai gasped. The man had appeared out of nowhere! Had he been there the whole time? Had he been invisible?

The man laughed at their surprise. A laugh that made his voice sound jolly by comparison. Flare had another case of the shivers as he beheld the strange and frightening man.

The man was dressed entirely in black causing him to blend in with the shadowy surroundings of the fortress, and not many details about his face could be made out in the dim lighting. The man's very appearance had caused the once brilliant torchlight to dampen. His hair was black and was reflecting the blue torch light, almost as if each strand was made from glass.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Flare demanded, not backing down despite his growing fear.

"Pardon me, where have my manners gone? I am called Xavius, and I know that you are Flare, and I know who you are too, Tai. I know these things because I have been watching you."

"Watching us? Why?" Flare tried to sound confident, but in truth a sinking powerless feeling had began clawing its way into his mind.

"Well, not watching you really, but watching this girl. Gina. I just know about you through her," the man answered.

"What…do you want…with Gina?" Flare's voice was a deadly calm. He had allowed his fear to be replaced with a growing red hot rage, it was the only way not to lose his mind to numbing terror.

"You would not understand my designs I'm afraid, for my plans are above the comprehension of lowly riffraff such as yourself," Xavius remarked casually. "But I assure you that she is very, very important to my ultimate goal."

"And just what do you plan on doing with her?" Flare's voice still held its razor tipped calm, but his body was now trembling with fury.

"Oh, don't fret Flare. I promise that she shall not be harmed. I need her alive and well. Unfortunately, I will be taking her far away from here. Someplace where you will not be able to follow me, no matter how much you might like to try, and I doubt very much that you should ever see her again. So say your goodbyes and I will be on my way." Xavius's voice remained both as calm and as cold as death.

"Okay," Flare agreed. His rage had come to a boiling point and he could no longer keep the tremor of fury out of his voice. He glared at the black clothed man and said between clenched teeth, "Goodbye."

Overcome with rage Flare charged Xavius with abandon. Refla would have scolded him for such a reckless maneuver. 'Never attack without a plan,' had been one of Refla's principle teachings.

But Flare was out of options, and even in his highly emotional state he knew that he was at a major disadvantage. He was caught weaponless against an unknown opponent, and to make matters worse, fleeing wasn't an option. If he had to choose between dying and giving up Gina, he would die. No choice. No thinking.

Flare had hoped that his sudden attack would catch the mysterious man off guard. How he longed for a sword! He wished for nothing more than a long sharp blade. At that moment he would have found the greatest pleasure in running Xavius through with a fine edged weapon of war. This man was trying to take the most important person in his life away from him, and Flare would stop him. Had to stop him.

Xavius was not surprised by the sudden rush. He likely expected no less from the headstrong youth. The sorcerer extended his arm and pointed at his charging adversary. When the boy was only feet away from the outstretched appendage, Xavius flicked his wrist upward. The air wavered for an instant, as if it had turned into rippling water, and Flare was sent flying back the way he had come.

He slammed hard into the ground and continued to slide backwards until he was stopped by the opposite wall. The breath rushed from his lungs in a violent whoosh as he impacted against the stone. Despite his rage and desperation, Flare could do nothing but lay on the cold stone floor moaning in agony.

The dark sorcerer laughed at the sight. "Temper, temper. Nobody likes a sore loser, Flare."

"You son of a bitch!" roared Tai who had stood by idly long enough. Knowing how futile another charge would be, he scanned his surroundings for some form of weaponry. Settling for a large chunk of stone from the crumbling wall, he lifted it into his powerful arms. Mustering all the strength that he could, Tai heaved the heavy stone across the room with surprising force.

A simple wave of Xavius's hand was more than sufficient in stopping the projectile in mid flight. A second wave sent the stone hurdling back toward its thrower. Tai reflexively dropped to the ground, but Xavius fired a bolt of energy into the airborne stone causing it to explode directly over Tai.

Tai screamed as his back was pelted with shrapnel. He could feel warm blood rise where the pieces of stone had torn into his skin.

Regaining himself at last, Flare rose to his feet. He glared at the sorcerer with an unbridled hate. To his left Tai was rising as well. He was hurt and plenty bloody, but none of his injuries looked life threatening.

The two shared a quick glance and a nod before charging in unison. Xavius laughed at the foolish attempt. How much would it take before the two of them caught on? There was to be only one victor on Ratcleff Island that night, and that victor would be him.

He made an exaggerated hand clapping gesture as the two figures rushed him. The air wavered on both sides of the charging friends. The invisible force sent them flying together with a sharp crack as their heads collided.

This time neither one stood back up. Flare tried to rise again, but he fell back to the cracked and cold stone floor. His eyes were dazed and foggy as they regarded the man who stood in front of them, the man who had beat them with so little effort, the man who was about to take the girl he loved.

Xavius waited until both companions had regained a measure of coherency before he continued. "Now that you have said your 'goodbyes' I shall allow Gina to say hers."

The life seemed to flood back into Gina's previously vacant eyes. She glanced around, unsure of her surroundings until she laid eyes on her two would be rescuers. Then it all came back to her. She remembered the man in black, and she remembered his magic and her fear. "Oh God! Help me, Flare! Pleas-," she started to shriek in panic as soon as she came to fully grasp what was happening, but her cry was cut short as Xavius put her into the trance once more.

Flare heard her plea for help and saw the light drain out of her eyes as she fell back under the man's wicked spell. He wanted to do something for her, or say something to her. At the very least comfort her, but his head was still screaming in agony, and he could barely move. His heart tore in two as he lay there helpless.

"Now I want you both to watch very closely. I'm about to show you a trick that you'll never see again."

Xavius raised his left arm above his head as his right hand clasped Gina's forearm and began chanting. It was too soft for either Flare or Tai to understand, but each word carried around the room in silent echoes. A faint aura started to glow around Xavius as he extended his magical powers to their peak.

Then all at once a brilliant blue light erupted from behind him. It came from a large blue circle, that swirled and spiraled like an insane whirlpool. Xavius stepped backwards into the spiraling blue lightshow, taking Gina with him.

Flare and Tai watched in disbelief as Gina vanished into the portal. Then it closed, and they were all alone in the darkness of Fort Ratcleff.


	4. Through the Gate

**Chapter 4: Through the Gate**

Tai never once felt as miserable in his life as he did those first few minutes after the departure of Xavius and Gina. His back was slick with blood, and he was sure there were more than a few pieces of jagged rock still embedded in him. His head throbbed from the collision with Flare, and his vision was still blurred and fuzzy from the impact.

But it was his heart that hurt him the most. He had witnessed the impossible with Xavius's impressive exit, and the sorcerer had turned out to be quite right about going somewhere that they couldn't follow. Tai believed in his heart that he had seen the last of his dear friend Gina. The thought of her never joking around with them, never visiting Taban with them, never doing anything with them ever again was unbearable. It was this pain that hurt him more than anything physical he had suffered.

What made things even worse was the condition of Flare. Who had rushed to the enigmatic portal immediately after it had closed. How he had managed to move so soon after the beating he had received, Tai would never know. Flare knelt where the portal had opened only minutes before, beating the ground with his fists, staining the ancient stone with blood and tears.

Tai had known Flare for as long as he could remember. They had grown up together and been through so much that it was impossible for Tai not to consider Flare his brother, but this was the first time Tai had ever seen Flare cry. When the two of them had been younger it was always Tai who would cry whenever he got scared, hurt or sad.

Yes, Tai had cried often enough in his youth, but not Flare. It was watching his best friend, his brother, weep so bitterly that made Tai's misery complete.

It was Tai who noticed the dimming of the torches. The blue fire within them was steadily shrinking, and the darkness was making a return. Tai had a gut feeling that if they remained inside the ruins once it was fully dark, they'd never leave them.

It was this pure gut wrenching terror that drove Tai to move again. They could wallow in their misery outside the ruins if they so desired, but the fortress needed to be vacated at once.

He forced Flare to his feet and pointed to the torches that were now about half diminished and fast shrinking. Flare nodded his understanding and the two fled the ruins. Leaning on each other for support and balance, they made their stumbling and awkward exit.

The moment they took their first steps out of the ruins the blue light died. The whole island was once again plunged into the horrible, oppressive, dark silence that had greeted them. With all the adrenaline drained out of their battered and bruised bodies, their hearts had no defense against the sickening fear induced by the complete blackness.

This fear drove them to keep up their pace until they reached the commandeered rowboat, falling onboard Flare hastily untied the rope that kept them moored, and the two unnaturally terrified young men threw the last of their dwindling energy into rowing away. Once they distanced themselves from the island, the two dropped their ores and let the boat float freely. They had been pushed to their breaking point and needed a rest, even if it was only a short one.

"Oh God…Tai, what are we going to do?" Flare's voice was scratchy and hoarse.

Tai shrugged helplessly. In the past it had always been he who had looked up to Flare for guidance. "We need to go tell Refla," Tai said. "Refla always knows what to do. If anyone can help us right now it's him."

Flare nodded his head in mute agreement. Refla was the only person that might be able to think of something, but what experience did Refla have with magical portals that led to god knows where? Probably none.

Hope had abandoned their hearts as they paddled their way back to shore. Moving at a much slower pace the return journey took more than twice the time to make, and it was well past midnight before they reached the Truce port. The two friends retied the boat to the dock, then made their way through the empty nighttime streets of Truce to Refla's house.

"He'll be asleep," said Tai when they reached his house.

"Then we wake him," answered Flare. "What other choice do we have?"

Flare wished that Refla's door had a door bell installed. Knocking caused his battered hands a great deal of pain. He silently scolded himself for being such an idiot as to beat a stone floor. After attempting a couple of halfhearted knocks Tai saw his pain and took over.

Having lived the life of a seasoned warrior Refla wasn't the deepest sleeper. After a few loud knocks by Tai he was up and heading for the door. They saw the lights inside flicker on and then the front door swung open, revealing their freshly out of bed and none to happy looking master.

As soon as he saw the condition of his two students the scowl on his face vanished, he hurried them inside and sat them down. "What in the nine blazes happened ter the both of ye?"

They told him what had transpired at Fort Ratcleff as he tended to their wounds. Starting from when they first had seen Gina heading to the docks; ending with the magical blue vortex.

Refla was silent through the telling of their story, and by the end his face had grown ashen. Once their wounds had all been treated the older man went into his small kitchen and prepared a pot of tea. They sat around his kitchen table drinking in silence. Then Refla spoke, "It's called a Gate."

"What is?" Flare asked.

"The blue portal ye saw 'em go through," Refla clarified. "It's called a Gate."

Both Flare and Tai stared at their teacher in shock. "You actually know what those things are?" Flare asked.

Refla took another sip of tea and said, "I've used 'em myself on occasion."

"What exactly are they?" Flare asked. "How far away have they gone?"

"These Gates don't travel distance in the way yer thinkin', Flare," Refla explained. "Gates 'er rips in the very fabric o' time."

"What do you mean?" asked Tai.

"I mean that what ye saw was a Gate that leads into another time. That sorcerer has just jumped to either the past or the future."

Under normal circumstances neither of the boys would have been able to easily believe the old man. Despite the glaring lack of precedence they would have thought he was playing some kind of strange joke on them, but now however, after all they had already witnessed that night, they had no doubt that what he said was true.

"So he was right. We really can't follow," Flare said numbly.

"What's that trash ye be spewin'?" Refla demanded, sounding both amused and annoyed by his student's pessimism. "Of course ye can follow 'em. All ye got to do is go through the Gate as well."

"But we can't go through the Gate. It closed. It's gone," Flare said.

"Nonsense, it'll still be there waitin' for ye. Naturally occurring Gates are highly unstable, true enough, but that one sounds like it was made by this Xavius, once stabilized, Gates like to hang around for a while. That Gate'll still be sittin' in those ruins long after you an' I are gone. Ye jus' need to open it back up," Refla said.

"How?" Flare asked, jumping up from the table. "Tell me how! We can't waste anymore time, we need to go now!"

"Ye'll do no such thing," growled Refla. "In yer condition what good would it do Gina if ye followed now? Firs' yer gonna rest up. Both of ye."

"But…" Flare began.

"But nothin'," Refla said firmly. "Ye'll follow, but yer gonna need supplies, and yer gonna need weapons. Ye'll be wantin' swords. Real ones too, not just yer wooden practice swords. I'd give ye mine, but there's two o' ye and only one o' me sword."

"We can go buy them tomorrow morning, once the blacksmith's open," Tai said.

Refla shook his head. "Old Grimes is a good smithy, sure, but yer gonna want finer blades than what he can offer; besides he don't know the firs' thing 'bout makin' a proper katana."

"Then where?" Flare demanded.

Refla got up and fetched himself another cup of tea. "Think Flare. What other master smithies do ye know?"

Flare frowned at the question. "You mean Taban? I guess he is pretty good, but would he even know how to forge a katana? Not only that but the way you've always described the process, it's incredibly time consuming."

Refla snorted. "Pretty good? Taban's a genius at the forge. He might love all that tinkerin' and creatin', not ter mention engineerin' all that machinery, but when it comes down to it he's a blacksmith at heart. How else did ye think he'd be able to afford his...more eccentric projects?"

"Fine," Flare conceded. "I know he's a great blacksmith, but it's still going to take him time to learn how to forge katana, not to mention far more time to actually forge them than we have."

"It would if I hadn't already taught him, and he hadn't already forged ye both one," Refla said with a roguish grin. "Did ye really think' yer old teacher didn't have a graduation present ready fer the pair of ye?"

Flare blinked at the unexpected good fortune. "Then what's the problem? If we have katana at the ready, we can leave tomorrow, or despite our condition, we could still leave now."

"Ye won't be goin' anywhere now, nor tomorrow," Refla growled in warning. "If I say ye need ter recover before ye leave, then ye'll recover before ye leave. Besides, in order to open that Gate, ye'll need an item that I've hidden away fer years. It'll take time for me ter retrieve it."

With a visible effort Flare calmed himself. "Okay, we don't have any choice but to wait then. How much time?"

"I'll leave tomorrow," Refla said. "In five days I'll be back and show ye how ter open the Gate."

Both students nodded. "Five days," they repeated.

Refla set his now empty tea cup down and headed to his bedroom. "Ye both know where the spare blankets an' pillows are."

Despite Flare's anxiety, exhaustion overcame him, and he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next five days were the longest of Flare's life. They had been given strict orders not to do anything but rest. Unfortunately, resting was the last thing on Flare's mind. The frustration of not being able to help Gina was driving him mad. Sitting around Refla's house with nothing to do was not helping matters any.

Refla had set out before either Flare or Tai had awoken on the first day, leaving a note outlining what he had set out to do. First he had gone to the orphanage to tell them that the boys would not be returning, and also to retrieve their personal belongings. His next stop had been to the town guard, so he could report Gina as a missing person. He had, of course, fabricated a story to keep the event believable.

In Refla's version of the tale, Gina had been kidnapped by a giant of a man, someone who had been strong enough to beat the piss out of both Flare and Tai. Then the man had headed south to Porre with Gina in tow. Thanks to this story many of the townsfolk now considered Flare and Tai to be some sort of heroes, for the way they stood up to protect her.

This only made the two of them feel worse. They didn't feel like heroes, that was for certain. They felt like helpless children, failures that couldn't even save one of their closest friends. They knew that they were being harsh on themselves, after all, what unarmed man could take on a powerful sorcerer?

Taban had come to visit them every day after he had found out, but otherwise they had few visitors. Flare was torn between craving the sparse company and dreading it. He felt too ashamed to face anyone, yet he was restless and bored out of his mind.

The following days droned on slowly and uneventfully, but on noon of the fifth day, Refla finally returned. He walked into the house with a large bag full of traveling supplies hung over his shoulder, and a long thin package in his other hand.

"How do the two of ye feel?" he asked as he dropped the bag of supplies to the ground and sat the long box on the table.

"Fine," Flare answered. "Still a little sore, but otherwise I've healed up pretty well."

"And how about ye, Tai?" he asked his other student.

"Not bad I guess. Like Flare said, sore but otherwise okay."

"Glad to hear it. I got yer swords right here boys. Ye'll both be pleased to know that they're absolute beauties. Both of 'em," Refla opened the long slender box, and produced two katana style swords still in their scabbards.

"This one is yer's and this one's yer's," he said tossing Flare one with a bright red pommel, and Tai one that had an ice blue pommel.

Flare drew the blade and studied it with awe. Refla hadn't been lying when he told them the swords were beautiful. It was without a doubt the finest weapon Flare had ever laid his eyes on. The pommel was bound with leather that had been dyed red, and the blade shone with a mirror finish.

He took a couple careful practice swings to get a feel for his new weapon. "The balance is perfect. I…I've never had a blade feel so natural in my hands."

Refla smiled. "Taban is a brilliant smith."

On the other side of the room Tai was also testing his new blade. "I agree, these swords are simply amazing. Taban _is _a genius."

"He is," said Refla, "and these two swords are among his finest works. Yers is called _Crimson Eon_, Flare. And yers, Tai, is _Azure Wind_."

"_Crimson Eon_…," echoed Flare. "_Eon_…isn't an eon something that has to do with time? Like a measurement or something?"

Refla raised an eyebrow at the assessment. "I'm impressed ye recognize the word, Flare, but yeah it means something along those lines."

Flare shrugged. "I think I've heard Taban use it before. Considering the current situation, the name is quite appropriate."

"These are for the both of ye as well," Refla said as he rummaged through the large bag he had brought. "Ah, here we go. I had Taban do bit of experimentin' on durable, yet light weight material. It's mithril, so it's strong, but flexible enough so it won't hinder yer movement."

He handed them the chain mail and then the bag it had come out of. "I picked up some travel food as well. Jerky and the such, also there's water skins in there. Fill 'em up before ye leave. I'll give ye a little gold as well, but ye don't need to worry about bringing too much. After all it might not be worth anything where you end up. I'd go with ye, but I think I'll look into some o' me connections. See if I can't find a way ter help ye in some other way. Pack yer things today, and finish restin' tonight. Ye'll leave in the mornin'."

* * *

The early morning air was cool and breezy as they left for the port the next morning. The wind whipped Flare's hair around in an unceremonious fashion. He wished that he still had his white bandana too keep it out of his eyes, but it had been missing since the encounter with Xavius.

Flare had thrown his travel tunic on over his clothes, and underneath it he wore Taban's chain mail. On his left side he wore his new sword, _Crimson Eon_, and on his right hung a crossbow that Taban had crafted him years before. Besides sword play, Flare excelled with the crossbow.

Tai was dressed in a similar fashion, but he had donned a hooded cloak instead of the tunic that Flare preferred. He too wore the chain mail under his clothing, and had his new sword, _Azure Wind_, on his side. Unlike Flare, he did not bring a crossbow. He had never been very good with one, instead he wore a simple hunting knife on his right hip. The two of them both wore backpacks full of food and spare clothing.

Refla had purchased a small boat for them to use. They stood on the dock for a few moments in silence. Flare looked at Refla and said, "I don't know how to ever thank you. You've done so much for us, and not only in these last few days."

A warm smile played across Refla's face as he regarded the two boys. Then dropping all pretenses of his gruff manner, he wrapped Flare into a hug. Then he turned to Tai and hugged him as well. "The two of ye have been like sons to me, and I love ye as if ye were me own. Now I'll tell ye what ye can do to thank me. Ye can put all the things that I've taught ye to good use and save that girl o' yers. And while yer at it ye can send that bastard back to hell and give him this old man's regards."

Flare opened his mouth to say something, but overcome with emotion, he just nodded. "But firs' things firs'," Refla said after a moment. "In order to open that gods damned Gate, yer gonna need this."

He reached down the front of his shirt pulling out a round blue gem that hung around his neck on a gold chain and handed it to Flare. "That's it. As long as ye have this with ye, ye can control the Gates."

Flare stared down in disbelief at the necklace in his hand. "This is it? The old necklace that you've always worn is the key to time travel?"

Refla chuckled, "Aye, that it is, and before ye get yer head in a fit over me lyin' to ye about those five days I made ye rest, just know that ye needed those five days. If I had to lie to ye so that ye'd let yerself recover its yer own stubbornness's fault."

Flare was far too surprised as he examined the seemingly simple necklace to get angry, so he instead only nodded.

"But how will we find the Gate again. If we can't see it, how will we reopen it?" asked Tai.

"Don't worry 'bout that. Once ye've seen one Gate something in yer head changes. If there's a Gate ye'll see it. Ye'll also smell it and feel it in yer blood, but I believe that its time for the two of ye to get a move on."

Flare put the necklace on and nodded his agreement. "Yes, its time, but first there's something I'd like to know."

"And what might that be?" Refla asked.

"Where did you get the necklace from? I mean, time traveling gemstones aren't something that people happen upon every day you know," Flare said.

"Me own master gave it too me when I was about yer age. He never did explain where he found it himself," said Refla.

Flare accepted the explanation with another nod, and then climbed down into the boat alongside Tai. They started rowing and didn't look back.

Refla watched the boat until it faded from view. He let out a deep sigh. Things had changed, and they would never be the same. "I'd help the two of ye out if I could. Ye know I'd come with ye in a heartbeat, but this ain't me story anymore."

Refla walked back to his empty house. A house that would no longer be the training ground of two young men. He sighed again. Now it was his turn to wait, and like Flare, patience had never been his strong suite.

* * *

The two friends reached Ratcleff Isle around mid morning. Even in the full light of day the small island still seemed dark and unfriendly. It was as if life itself had been banished from the place. No birds flew anywhere near the island, and as far as they could see, there were no other animals making the island home.

Even the trees looked sickly, the grass parched and yellow. "This place is almost as cheery during the day as it is at night," Tai remarked.

"C'mon, let's spend as little time on this island as we have to," said Flare.

They entered the ruined fortress through the same entrance they had used before, and made their way through the front hall into the back room. The insides of the fort choked most of the light from the air, but enough remained for them to recognize the place they had been several nights back.

"Hey Flare, there's your lucky bandanna," Tai pointed out.

Sure enough Flare's white bandanna was lying on the ground by the wall he had been slammed into. He picked it up and examined it briefly. There was a small splotch of blood on it from where he had hit his head during the battle against Xavius. He shook a bit of the dust off and tied it back onto his head.

Tai walked to the center of the room and looked around. At first he didn't see anything, but then a slight flicker caught his eye. Floating in front of him was a small round orb. It was transparent and glowed with a faint blue light. How he hadn't seen it before was beyond him. Now that he could see it, he couldn't seem to unsee it.

"It's right here, Flare," he said with awe. "Here's the portal through time. The Gate."

Flare walked over to Tai and he too saw the shimmering blue orb. He pulled the necklace off and held it out to the Gate. The blue gem began pulsing with light as it approached the floating blue orb. Then all at once the Gate opened.

Just as it had done the time before, it swirled like a large floating whirlpool bathing the room with pale blue light.

"Well, this is it," said Tai. "We're about to become genuine time travelers."

As one they leaped forward and instantly vanished within its spiraling depths. The Gate held for a moment and then closed. The room was empty of all life once more.


	5. Zombie Party

**Chapter 5: Zombie Party**

The trip through the Gate was unlike anything either of the two had ever experienced. They flew at an impossible speed through a long blue tunnel that looked as if it were made from pure light. The tunnel twisted and turned in gut wrenching fashion. Then suddenly it slowed, and the end of the tunnel opened. The Gate spat them out, hummed for a few more seconds, and closed behind them.

"I am…sooo…dizzy," mumbled Tai.

"I think I'm gonna-uuhhrrrggg," Flare's voice cut out as he vomited over the table's side.

Tai realized that the two of them were sitting on a large rectangular wooden table. The room around them was made from stone, but unlike the room they had come from, the stone was not cracked nor crumbling, and elaborate tapestries hung from the walls.

The walls themselves were smeared with old dry blood, and littering the floor were the corpses of dozens of combatants. Some looked to be human, but others were obviously of the mystic race. They were strewn about in exaggerated death posses, and in the areas where the heavier fighting must have taken place the decaying bodies were stacked several layers deep. There were even bodies lying on top of the table.

"Dear God!" Flare exclaimed when he discovered one such body laying beside him.

"Where the hell are we?" asked Tai as he gazed around the grotesque scene.

"We must still be in Fort Ratcleff only in the past," Flare reasoned. "This battle couldn't have taken place more than a few weeks ago. Look, there's still flesh on these corpses."

"Let's get out of here. This place is even creepier now than it was in our time," Tai said.

They slipped off the table and made their way to the door, carefully stepping around the dead. The wooden door had been shattered and the bodies were piled thickly around it. In the hallway the corpses thinned out but were still present.

"I'll never get this stench out of my nose," complained Flare.

"Shhhhh! Do you hear something?" Tai stopped them suddenly halfway between the Gate room and the front entrance.

They stood straining their ears in the silence. "I don't hear any th-," Flare started.

"Shhh!" Tai hushed him.

After waiting a few more moments Flare started to hear it too. The noise was low and watery. It sounded like raspy wet breathing. The walls echoed with the noise that seemed to come from everywhere at once. It was getting louder too. Before long the hallway was rumbling with the disturbing sound.

"Let's go. Now," said Flare.

As Flare took another step forward his leg was suddenly seized by a rotting slime covered hand. He yelled in surprise and kicked the nasty thing away, but all around them the other bodies started to rise.

"This can't be happening," said a shocked and frightened Tai.

The corpse that had first grabbed Flare was now standing, and it made another sudden lunge at him. With reflexes born from endless training Flare drew _Crimson Eon,_ and slashed at the zombie, whose head went flying off its shoulders.

It stumbled backwards then fell to the ground with a thud, but other zombies all around them began closing in. Flare struck another one, and another, as they pounced for him. Tai too had drawn his blade and was attacking any zombie that got within his range.

"This is crazy!" Flare announced loudly.

"Tell me about it," Tai said as he decapitated another undead opponent.

As they struck down the few zombies in the hallway a much larger group began pouring out of the room they had arrived in. These zombies carried with them the weapons that they had wielded in life, and were comprised of both human and mystic. In death they had put aside their differences and risen against a common foe: intruders of their resting place. An even greater number of undead warriors approached from the opposite direction.

"We're surrounded! There's no way we can take all of them!" shouted Tai.

"Dammit!" swore Flare. "The exit's blocked. We'll have to find another way out."

They retreated down a side passage that lead into another hallway full of zombies. Quickly dispatching the ones that got in their path, they continued down various passages desperately searching for an exit. Unfortunately, none presented themselves, and the two came to a halt.

"Dead end," Flare said disappointedly.

Behind them the zombies continued to follow. A great wave of undead warriors surged from the way Flare and Tai had come from. The only way they had out was up a staircase.

"We have to go up," Flare decided. "Otherwise we're zombie bait."

"Think that they'll actually eat us?" Tai wondered.

"Don't know and don't want to find out," answered Flare who had started up the stairway.

The next floor was worse if anything. The two found themselves fighting for every inch of ground as they moved from room to room. One zombie mystic had nearly lopped Flare's head off with a great battle axe. Leaping nimbly to the side he regained his footing, before returning the favor by cutting the monster cleanly in two.

Several undead imps fell into pieces moments after they decided to rush Tai. More still fell to the hands of Flare who rampaged through a cluster of monsters. "Barricade the doorway!" he yelled as the last zombie imp slumped to the floor.

Tai ran up to the door they had come through slamming it shut. Flare quickly shoved an overthrown table in front of it. They ran around the room grabbing everything they could find to throw in front of the table. Eventually, they even piled up the headless corpses of defeated undead in front of the makeshift blockade.

They could soon hear the sounds of their zombie pursuers beating on the sealed doorway. "It won't hold forever, but we've got more pressing problems." Flare pointed to the other door where a fresh batch of undead warriors had appeared.

The first zombie was human, but unlike the other dead soldiers he wore gold plated armor giving him the look of high importance. In life he might have even been in charge of the doomed fort. Behind him were two other human zombies who were dressed in standard armor, and coming through the doorway behind all of these, were half a dozen battle axe totting mystic warriors.

Both Flare and Tai dropped their packs to the ground, knowing that they'd need all of their agility in the coming battle. "I don't suppose we can convince you guys to surrender now?" Flare asked humorlessly.

In response the zombie in the golden armor raised his sword above his rotting head and let out an earsplitting howl. Flare shuddered in spite of himself. "Guess not," he said.

The zombies charged recklessly at the two companions, howling and slashing. Flare parried the first few blows from one of the zombie humans but took a glancing blow from a battle axe wielding mystic. The side of the axe struck his shoulder and sent him spinning to the ground. Seizing the opportunity the first zombie stabbed its blade at Flare's unprotected throat.

At the last second the zombie's sword flew to the side as Tai's katana knocked it away. Tai followed through with an upward slash that took the zombie's sword arm at the elbow. It stumbled backwards then made a desperate grab for the weapon with its remaining hand. Tai took the opening and severed the one armed zombie's head.

Flare had already regained his feet and taken on two of the undead mystics. They were powerful, one well placed hit with their enormous battle axes could cut a man in two, but Flare had a great advantage over them in his speed and agility. Dodging their strikes with ease he waited for the perfect moment before striking back. When one of them made a lunge in his direction he worked his way in between the two. Flare kicked out behind him and felt his foot hit the back of the mystic's knee, causing the undead brute to collapse. Simultaneously he sliced the other's head off. Turning back around, he brought his sword down upon the fallen mystic's neck.

No sooner had Flare finished off his two opponents when another pair took their place. He could see that Tai was now surrounded by the remaining three zombies, so he knew that he had no time to play it safe. He feigned to the left with a quick jab but quickly reversed his motion and shoulder rammed the other zombie mystic. This allowed the first monster enough time to bring his axe up but not enough to bring it down. Flare on the other hand had plenty of time to severe both of its rotting arms with one arching sweep of his sword.

Turning his attention back to the zombie he had rammed, Flare overwhelmed it with a series of lightning fast jabs. Then he aimed a lethal blow to the creature's throat; when the undead fighter brought his arm up to block, Flare stopped the strike in mid swing and reversed it completely. His blade came back around from the other side too fast for the lumbering beast to react.

Tai was fighting furiously against three opponents at once. The last two mystics struck at him from both sides, while a human zombie took him head on. Tai parried every blow that they sent his way, and returned with his own swings aimed for their neck and head area. He made these swings as wide as possible, so the zombies would instinctively fall back giving him room to breath.

Flare grabbed the crossbow from his side and loaded a bolt. He took aim for just a second and then pulled the trigger. The bolt flew forth with a satisfying _twang_ and struck the human zombie in the back of its neck, in between its helmet and breast plate.

The zombie stopped attacking and grabbed at the bolt. Tai seized the chance and sprung forward. His sword cut easily through the decaying flesh and the zombie's head toppled off its rotting shoulders. Reloading as quickly as he could Flare sent his next bolt at the mystic to Tai's right. It struck the beast square in the face. Tai finished the job with another well placed slash.

The last zombie continued its attack without hesitating in the slightest. Tai kept it occupied as Flare snuck around behind it. Tai let loose with a series of thrust attacks; as the zombie worked to parry these, Flare claimed its head.

The pair panted slightly after the excursion of energy and turned to face their only remaining foe. The gold clad zombie had watched from the sidelines as its minions had fought.

"Are you going to try your luck with us, or just stand there all day and rot?" Flare taunted.

The gold clad zombie made no move for them, but instead sheathed its sword and left the room from the doorway it had entered.

"Think we scared it away?" asked Tai hopefully.

"I don't know, but somehow I doubt it," answered Flare.

After the noise from the battle had faded, the room was silent again. Even the zombies that had been trying to knock down the barricaded door had stopped. The only sound was the low wet breathing noise that echoed eerily through the room.

"It's getting louder," Tai remarked darkly.

"I know," said Flare.

"It's coming from in there."

Flare nodded gravely. "We can't head back. There's no way in hell that we'd have a chance against those numbers."

"But what kind of chance do you think we stand against whatever's making that noise?" asked Tai.

Flare shrugged as a reckless smile formed on his face. "There's only one way to find out. Besides, after the welcome we just received, we need to repay the owner for his hospitality."

Tai nodded his agreement. After all, what other choice did they have? Flare nocked another bolt in his crossbow. With it in one hand and the _Crimson Eon _in the other he walked through the door toward the ominous noise. Tai braced himself for the coming confrontation and followed.


	6. The Keeper of Fort Ratcleff

**Chapter 6:**** The Keeper of Fort Ratcleff**

They followed the retreating zombie into the next room and up a short flight of stairs. These led to a wide, richly decorated chamber. Wall hangings of various colors, all bearing the emblem of Guardia adorned the room. Unlike the other rooms the floor was crafted out of fine marble, instead of plain stone, and in the center of the room sat a small round table with three eloquently made wooden chairs placed around it.

Streams of light flowed from windows on either side of the room. From their vantage Flare and Tai could see that they were well above the tallest of the surrounding trees. These trees weren't as shrunken and sickly as they would be in the future, but they had already lost their healthy sheen.

At the far end of the room there was another door, and in front of it stood the zombie in the golden armor. Its rotting face was twisted into a wicked grin, an unsettling noise came from the creatures mouth. The zombie was laughing.

"We must have reached the top floor. This has got to be the master's chambers," Tai said as they entered.

"And our well dressed zombie friend seems to find something rather amusing," Flare stated.

Indeed the zombie's laugh was growing louder. It was now rising into a hysteric warble. Along with it, the echoing breathing noise was also growing in volume, and a third sound joined the choir. This one was a deep, slow heartbeat. Unlike the breathing, which came from everywhere, the heartbeat had a definite source. From behind the furthest door, the heartbeat throbbed.

The three unholy noises flowed into one another, each enhancing the last, until they became a song, a dead and rotting song. "It's the chorus of the damned," Flare murmured.

He raised his crossbow and fired. The bolt struck the laughing zombie in the eye. Its laughing ceased as it fell face forward to the ground. The zombie's armor clanged loudly and then absolute silence followed. For a moment the silence persisted. Then the breathing and the heartbeat returned with a start.

"I guess all that's left is to have a little look-see into that room," Flare said.

But before he could take another step forward, the wall around the door shook violently. Not the door itself but the entire wall. Flare stopped his advance as the wall shook with another tremendous blow. He glanced over at Tai who just shrugged.

"What the hell do you think it is?" Tai asked.

"I know what it is," replied Flare. "It's big."

As if it wanted to lend weight to Flare's comment, the thing behind the wall slammed forward again. This time a large crack tore down the face of the wall. Another shuddering blow caused hundreds of smaller cracks to spider web out from the first one. Flare glanced down at the crossbow in his hand. Deciding that it wouldn't be much help against something this big he tossed it to the side and gripped his sword with both hands.

The next blow sent pieces of stone crumbling off the wall. Flare looked at his friend and then pointed with his sword to the left side of the room. Tai nodded his understanding, and ran to the far left. Flare moved over to the right side and took his battle stance. The wall trembled one final time and then completely collapsed, kicking up clouds of dust.

The dust cleared to reveal a gigantic skeletal beast. Its head resembled a giant human skull but with enlarged razor sharp fangs. The skull was attached to the main portion of the body by a long jagged spinal column. The rest of the body was a massive bloody ribcage with long clawed arms on its sides. The empty sockets of its eyes were black as midnight except for small red embers that glowed deep within.

Its fiery eyes roved the room until they settled first on Tai and then on Flare. Its great fanged mouth fell open and it gave a thunderous cry, a terrible shrieking sound that drained the warmth from the air.

The color drained out of Tai's face as he took a reflexive step away from the horror, "Um….don't suppose that you happen to have a brilliant plan…do you?"

"As a matter of fact I do," said Flare. "Run away."

Tai turned to do just that but stopped when he saw the doorway. Dozens of skeletal arms had grown from the wall and linked together in front of the room's only exit.

"Door's been sealed off, Flare," Tai called over to him.

"Plan B," Flare called back. "We kill it."

The monstrosity responded with another shrieking howl and swiped one of its deadly bone claws at Flare. Diving backwards the young swordsman was able to narrowly escape death. The monster's claws hit the ground only a few feet away from Flare and gouged a huge piece out of the marble floor. Taking full advantage of the opening Tai charged the creature from the side.

The _Azure Wind _rebounded harmlessly off of the massive skull twice before the monster swatted him away with a powerful backhand. Tai's body flew backwards into the table which shattered with the force of his impact. He rolled a few more feet before coming to a stop in the pile of smashed wood.

Even as Tai was swatted away Flare was charging. The skeleton beast sent another claw at Flare, but the nimble warrior jumped over the limb and continued his attack. Flare's sword proved to be no more effective than Tai's as it bounced off of the skull without causing more than a scratch. The beast snapped its powerful jaws at Flare but caught nothing except air.

Flare retreated away from the monster, hoping to avoid any attacks from its claws. He almost made it too, but just as he was leaving its attack range the monster used one of its arms to drag its body forward with stunning quickness. Its other arm slashed Flare across his chest. Luckily, Flare had gotten far enough away to escape all but the very tips of the razor like claws. Taban's chain mail absorbed most of the blow, yet the strike still sent him crashing to the ground.

He and Tai both scrambled to their feet and ran to the back of the room. The skeleton beast cried out again as it started to drag itself forward to its prey.

"That freak show's indestructible!" Tai cried in frustration. "We're barely scratching the damned thing!"

"Remember what Refla always told us!" Flare returned. "We've got to find a weakness, nothing's unbeatable!"

"Hold on! The eyes, Flare, the eyes! Use your crossbow while I distract it!" yelled Tai as he charged the beast again.

This time Tai fought more defensively. He focused on jumping over or ducking underneath the creature's swipes as he repeatedly feigned attacks at the beast's head. Flare hurried over to the corner where he had thrown his crossbow and retrieved it. He loaded a bolt and took aim. "Tai, look out!" he called.

Tai dove to the side and Flare fired. The creature shifted its head at the last moment and the bolt nicked harmlessly off the side of its skull. The beast howled and started to drag itself forward again. Flare swore and hastily reloaded his weapon. Aiming carefully, Flare waited until the monster let out another horrible shriek before he fired.

The bolt entered the eye socket, and a small pillar of fire burst out of it. The skeleton beast stopped its advance and shook its head wildly. It screamed in agony and rage for another moment before stopping. Then a strange red light flowed out of the eye socket. When the glow was gone the eye had returned to normal.

"It worked!" yelled Tai as he ran back to Flare. "That hurt it!"

Flare shook his head. "It healed itself. If we want to win we have to take both eyes out at once."

"Okay, I'm ready when you are. Let's just kill the damn thing," Tai agreed.

"Hang back until I say so," Flare instructed as he clipped his crossbow back onto his belt.

"Right," said Tai as he readied himself for the charge. "Just say the word, Flare."

The skeleton beast howled as it moved its hulking form toward the two humans. It had its prey trapped between itself and the wall. They had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It was pleased. Then it made its first and final mistake. It got hungry for the warm flesh of the living, for their living blood, and it got careless in its hurry. Figuring it had them trapped and beaten, it used both arms to drag itself forward to quicken its pace.

Both young warriors saw this mistake at once. Flare had barely screamed, "NOW!" and they were both on their way. The monster saw its folly too late, and before it could react both men had leaped onto its face. Their finely crafted swords plunged into the beast's unprotected eye sockets.

The creature shrieked with outrage and flung its head high into the air. Both Flare and Tai fled to the far corner as the dying beast thrashed about wildly with their swords still embedded into its face. It slammed itself against the walls and the ceiling with such force that the two were sure it would bring the fortress down on them. Then it gave one final cry and crashed to the floor.

They approached it apprehensively expecting it to spring back to life at any moment, but the beast started to crumble until all that was left was a pile of fine white dust. The two recovered their swords and headed to the room it had burst out of.

They stopped at the edge of the rubble where a wall used to stand and peered into the darkness. All around them the air seemed freeze with a nervous calm. The breathing noise was still present, but it sounded different somehow. It sounded weaker than before. The heartbeat on the other hand was still coming from within the dark room as strong as ever.

"We've come this far," Tai said. "Might as well go all the way in."

Flare nodded and then smiled at his friend. "Hell, what could be worse than the thing we just killed?"

Tai chuckled. "Famous last words."

They enjoyed a short laugh before they plunged into the darkness. They walked about fifty feet and then stopped. The sound of the heartbeat was louder now than ever. It throbbed in their ears so loudly that they felt dizzy.

"What now?" Tai called over the deafening pulse.

"We wait and let our eyes adjust," he answered. They waited for a few endless minutes and then a small light off to the side caught Tai's eye.

"Look," he said grabbing Flare by the shoulder and pointing to the right. There was a small glimmer of light coming from what must have been the wall. "I bet it's a window."

They walked over to the light to get a closer look. Sure enough it was a window, only it was completely sealed off with what looked like skeletal vines. All except for the small portion that had caught Tai's eye. Flare raised his sword above his head, and smashed through both the skeletal shield and the glass.

The window turned out to be deceptively large, and as soon as more light had filtered in they finished smashing out the pieces, until the window was fully uncovered. Light flooded the room. And revealed the terror that was inside.

The walls and ceiling were both covered in what looked like living tissue. Blood veins and long jagged skeletal arms twisted through the bloody tissue that covered the walls. Hanging on the far wall was a giant beating heart. Even in the dim light they could tell that the heart was black. With each beat the walls pulsated like a living thing.

"We're in a nightmare," gasped Tai as he beheld the awful room.

"This place," Flare said in a barely audible whisper, "Its wrong. Its just...wrong. We have to kill it." He stepped up to the heart and raised his sword to strike, when a great wave of malevolence assaulted his mind. Inarticulate and wicked emotions flowed from the black heart like a great river. If he had to name them he would have chosen words like _Hate, Suffer__ing__, Rage, _and _Disgust, _though the words alone could never describe the raw intensity the emotions carried. They hit him with such force that he stumbled backwards, almost dropping his sword.

Flare regained his balance and focused his will against the overwhelming thoughts. Soon he realized that they were just that, thoughts and emotions. They had already killed the physical manifestations of these feelings in the other room. The heart itself posed no actual threat to them. Well, not in the short term anyway. Flare knew that it would eventually regain its strength and recreate the horrible skeletal beast, or summon the hoards of zombies upon them.

No, he wouldn't let that happen. The heart would die here and now. Flare would ensure this. He steeled his resolve against the emotions and raised _Crimson Eon _again. This time when the wave of hatred hit him he didn't stumble or sway. He slashed downward with all of his remaining might.

His blade cut through the heart easily and a great torrent of black blood gushed out. The blood smelled of rot and death, but Flare forced himself not to puke, not to open his mouth for anything. The last thing he wanted to do was drink this thing's blood. He raised his sword again and brought it down, and then again, and again, and again.

Each slash caused more blood to spew forth. Flare was drenched from head to toe in the black ooze. Hatred screamed inside his head blinding him from everything. Everything save for what mattered most. Killing the heart. He continued to slash until the blood stopped gushing. Soon it had lost most of its pressure and simply poured out in thick streams onto the ground.

Flare lowered his sword and backed away from the heart. It continued to scream into his mind for a few more moments before the wordless hate started to fade. Then it was gone, and the heart was dead. The fort was filled with silence. The heartbeat had stopped and the breathing had stopped. Fort Ratcleff was dead.

Flare wiped the blood off of his face and mouth then turned around. "C'mon Tai, let's get out of here." Tai nodded but remained silent. They left the room without looking back.


	7. Captain Sid and the Sea Salamander

**Chapter ****7****: Captain Sid and the Sea Salamander**

With the black heart dead the corpses of Fort Ratcleff ceased to be animated. The two friends paused in the room where they had first met the golden armored zombie just long enough to retrieve their packs and remove the barricade they had sat in front of the doorway. The outside hallway was littered with what could have been hundreds of now still corpses.

They waded through the sea of dead as gingerly as they could. Tai kept his sword drawn half expecting the zombies to attack once more. Flare knew that this would not happen. The hatred in the black hearts telepathic screaming had told him this. It had wanted to remain alive, because it was the force that kept the fort haunted; without it this was just another stone building.

Finding their way out of the fort proved to be a fairly simple task. They quickly located the main hallway that lead to the front entrance and left the fort without hesitation. Whether it was still haunted or not didn't matter. Fort Ratcleff was not a place of pleasant memories.

The outside sun seemed to shine brighter than it ever had. Both Flare and Tai soaked up its warmth on their walk down to the beach. Never had they missed its warm glow more than inside the cursed fort. "I'm going to wash this black stuff, this blood, off of me before we head to Truce," Flare announced.

"Please do, that stuff looks, and smells, foul," Tai said.

It was foul. It was vile. It was the most loathsome substance that Flare had ever come into contact with. The blood was ice cold and not just in a physical way. It seemed to freeze Flare's emotions as well as his body. He felt the hate of the black heart lingering inside of it. He felt as if he would never be happy again and as if there was a great unthinking rage about to boil over in his heart.

He wanted nothing more than to wash the filth off of his skin and let himself warm in the morning sun. Then they would take their boat to Truce, not the Truce that they knew, but the Truce from centuries ago. When they arrived at the beach; however, they discovered that their boat was…

"Gone!" yelled Tai in dismay. "The boat's gone!"

"No," said Flare after thinking for a moment. "The boat was never here. It didn't come through the gate with us. It won't be here for several hundred years."

Tai slapped himself on the forehead and let out a long low groan. "What were we thinking? Of course it wouldn't be here. How could we be so stupid?" Tai grumbled in self disgust.

"All I care about is getting this crap off of me," Flare said striping his clothes off.

He jumped into the cool water and submerged himself completely; running his hands through his hair to strain the blood out of it. Of all the baths he had taken in his entire life this one was the best. And why shouldn't it be? After all he was cleansing his soul from the black blood's hate and malice as well as his body from its rot and filth.

Soon he was lying in the grass and relaxing in the summer sun. He had also washed all of his clothes and they were hanging on the limbs of a nearby tree drying out. For the first time in days he felt good. With the black blood he had also washed away many worries that had been plaguing him. He felt confident that they'd find Xavius and rescue Gina.

Tai was not as calm as Flare however. For the first few minutes after Flare had finished washing Tai had paced back and forth trying to figure out what they should do. "Think we should go back and try to carry the boat through with us?" he asked anxiously.

"No," Flare replied simply.

Tai stopped his pacing to look at his friend curiously. "Why not? Aren't you worried about Gina? We can't just sit here all day."

"Of course I'm worried about Gina, but the boat's too big. The two of us could never lift the thing," Flare stated mildly.

This was true enough. While the vessel they used had been smaller than the average boat, it was still much too large to be carried anywhere by hand. "Then we could go gather more people, and they could help us carry it," Tai suggested.

"Like who?" Flare questioned, "Taban maybe, and Refla. But other than that who would actually help us carry a boat into a haunted fortress? And what would they do when they saw the gate?"

Tai gave up and slumped to the ground, "Okay, then what do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do," Flare said, "We can't bring the boat through with us and it's too far to swim, so all we can do is wait. These waters are fished pretty regularly in our time. They probably are in this time as well, so a boat should drift by sometime today."

After thinking it over Tai decided that Flare was right, so he calmed himself down and followed his friend's example and enjoyed the sun. The morning passed without sign of any boats. Midday came and went, so they ate a small meal of jerky and bread for lunch. It was late afternoon before they were picked up by a ship.

By this time Flare had started to worry. He knew that he was right in waiting for a boat. It was the only thing that they could do after all, but he didn't want to spend a night on the island. He had given up most hope of being picked up that day and started preparing a fire for the dreaded night when a ship finally sailed by.

The two leaped up and started waving their arms and yelling in an attempt to catch someone's attention. Flare sighed with relief as the ship turned and began sailing towards them.

When the ship got near enough they saw the words SEA SALAMANDER painted on its side. It pulled as close to the island as it dared before a couple of men jumped into a small life raft and headed to the shore.

Tai looked over to Flare and asked, "What kind of name is _Sea Salamander_?"

Flare shrugged. "Who cares if it will get us off this island."

The raft pulled onto shore and two men stepped out of it. The first man's long dark hair was pulled into a pony tail, and he wore a well trimmed beard on his face. The other man was slightly taller with short black hair and a clean shaven face. Both men had swords at their hips. The first man wore a cutlass, but the second man's sword was a katana made in the same style as both Flare and Tai's weapons.

The long haired man stepped forward and gave the two of them an appraising look. Deciding that they were all right he broke into a wide grin and said, "what be the two of ye doin' on this forsaken place?"

Flare strained his mind to come up with an excuse. Why hadn't they thought of a cover story? Anyone would want to know why they were stranded on a haunted isle. "We were left here," he improvised quickly. "Our uh…friend dared us to come here. He said we wouldn't…er…spend a full hour on the isle."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "Then he thought it would be funny to leave us here, so he…well, left."

The long haired man gave a small growl, "Doesn't sound like no friend to me. Anyone who would leave someone on this cursed place is a downright dirty rat."

"Well…he isn't our friend anymore," Flare stammered trying to sound angry but finding it hard to be cross with someone who wasn't real. "As soon as we find him we're gonna…uh beat the livin' crap out of him."

"If it be me," the long haired man said, "I'd skin the stinkin' rat alive, but enough of that, now that me an' me crew have found the two of ye, ye'll get safe passage into Truce. You're lucky we passed by. Most ships won't come anywhere near this island."

"Yes, we're very lucky," Flare said as he repressed a shudder of horror. Staying there at night would not have been fun.

"Now come along and we'll get the hell out of here," the long haired man said.

Flare and Tai happily boarded the small raft, and before long they had boarded the _Sea Salamander _along with the two men who had retrieved them from the beach.

"Now that we be off that cursed place I'll introduce me self. Name's Sid Damascus Korin. I be Captain of this fine vessel," The long haired man announced. "And this be me first mate, Swimley," he said with a point over to the other man. Swimley gave a polite bow and the captain extended his arm which Flare accepted with a shake.

"My name's Flare," he introduced, "and this is my friend Tai."

"Pleased to meet you," Tai said as he also shook the captain's outstretched hand.

"So where are the two of ye from? From your funny accent I can tell you're not from Truce. Are ye?" Captain Sid said conversationally,

"Um…no," Flare lied. He didn't want to claim that they were from Truce only to not know anything about the city when they got there. "We're originally from Choras. We were just up here visiting. Just got in today so we don't really know our way around town."

"Not a problem," Captain Sid replied. "I've got a good pal who run's an inn. He'd be glad to put you boys up for a night or two. I'll just give ye a note to hand to him."

"Thanks," Flare said happily. "I don't know how we could ever repay you,"

"Don't worry about it," the captain said with a wave of his hand. "What do the two of you do for a living anyway? I suppose you both know how to use those swords on your sides. Are you both soldiers? Lord knows that Guardia needs 'em."

"Actually we were planning on enlisting," Tai commented. "We've just turned eighteen so we're eligible now."

The captain raised an eyebrow at the comment and gave them a curious look. "What be ye talking about? With the war going on right now they've stopped even asking the ages of their recruits."

"Oh…yeah," Tai said lamely.

"You boys do know about the war now don't ya?" Sid asked with a bemused smile.

"Of course," Flare quickly replied. "Who doesn't know about the war against the mystics. Hope it ends soon. If only we could take out Magus…"

"Who?" the captain asked.

"Magus," Flare repeated thinking that the captain just hadn't heard him. "If we could take out their leader they'd crumble pretty quickly."

Both the captain and his first mate wore perplexed looks upon their faces. They shared a brief glance and a shrug before the captain said to Flare, "Who be this Magus ye're speakin' of? The leader of the mystics has always been a foul ogre callin' himself Ozzie."

Flare flushed red with embarrassment. They must have gone back to the earliest stages of the war before Magus made his first appearance and Ozzie was still believed to be leading the mystic forces. He tried to think of something to cover his mistake but couldn't think of anything for the life of him.

"You have heard of Ozzie right?" Sid asked curiously.

"Uh-huh," Flare said as he racked his brain for more historical facts, "Yeah, um…yeah Ozzie and his lieutenants Slash and Flea. That's right they're in charge."

"So you guys don't get much news in Choras," Sid guessed.

"Uh…not really…no," Flare stammered.

The Captain laughed in an amused manner, "Well that's okay I guess. After all we don't really get much news about the happenings there. Well, its been a pleasure talkin' to you fine folks but I've got some things to do. I'll get ye yer note for the inn before you leave." With that Captain Sid returned to his cabin.

The trip was a short one and they were docking in the harbors of Truce within twenty minutes. The captain gave them directions on how to get to the inn and a small piece of parchment that read:

_Raleigh: These two are acquaintances of mine. Give them room and board for a night or two on my tab. Captain S.D. Korin._

They thanked the captain and his crew one last time and said farewell. The directions turned out to be easy enough to follow and they reached the inn in no time at all. They ate a quick meal in the tavern and soon found themselves in their beds asleep. Their first day as time travelers had been a long one.

_Authors Note: If you've read an earlier version of this chapter you might have noticed that Flare claims to be from the El Nido Archipelago. I originally used that as his cover story just for a little Trigger/Cross connection, but since then I've learned that the Zenan mainlanders hadn't colonized El Nido until 920 AD. Way back in the late 500s the archipelago was populated by Demi-humans and not regular humans such as Flare and Tai, so I've fixed the minor plot hole by simply replacing El Nido with Choras._

_On an unrelated note for those of you wondering, the character 'Sid' is not a reference to the perpetual Final Fantasy character(s). It's actually a reference to a friend's internet alias, sdkorin. _


	8. New Alliances

**Chapter 8: New Alliances**

Flare woke early the next morning. Not one to get up before noon on most days, he woke with surprising ease. Careful not to wake Tai who was still sleeping on the room's other bed Flare got dressed and headed downstairs to the tavern section of the inn. The lamps had been lit and other early risers sat around the bar or at the tables eating breakfast.

He took an empty table near the bar and ordered a meal himself. Without any real appetite he picked at the plate of hash browns and bacon. The enormity of the situation had just started to sink in. He was several centuries in the past looking for his kidnapped girlfriend who was hostage to some kind of sorcerer, and to top all that, he had no idea of where to look. The hope that he had harbored ever since Refla told him that following Xavius was possible had faded with the realization of how serious the situation really was.

The sun had already risen by time Tai joined him and started on his own breakfast. "Not hungry?" he asked pointing at Flare's half eaten meal.

Flare gave a great sigh and slumped his shoulders. "How are we supposed to find Gina? We might as well be searching for a needle in a haystack."

"It's not that bad," Tai said with a shrug. "Xavius is a pretty recognizable guy you know. With his solid black wardrobe and that shiny hair thing. Someone must have noticed him. We'll just ask around town until we find a lead."

"Yeah, but he can turn invisible remember? If he doesn't want to be followed he won't be followed," Flare replied sullenly.

Tai gave another little shrug. "True, but we don't know if he can turn Gina invisible or not. Besides he doesn't know that we even can follow him. He won't really be hiding from us."

Flare nodded and took another bite of his now cold meal. Maybe Tai was right and things weren't quite as hopeless as they seemed. Still it wasn't like a lead was just going to jump out and bite them in the a-

"I'm telling you it was him," said a portly fellow at the bar.

"And I'm telling you that you lost your mind," retorted his friend. "Wasn't him that you saw."

Flare's ears perked up suddenly as he heard the two men speaking. For some reason the conversation had given him a good feeling. A lucky feeling.

"Who else could it have been? He had them golden eyes and hair that was white as snow, nay twas white as bones, white like death. He was even wearing twin blades like all the tales claim," the first man said indignantly. "It had to have been Kyui Wara."

Flare's shoulders slumped as he heard the man give his description. It wasn't Xavius after all. It had been foolish to assume a lead could come that easily.

"And what pray tell was the famed Killer of a Thousand Men doing. I suppose you sat down and had tea with him as well," the second man mocked.

"Don't be thick," growled the portly man. "Of course we didn't have tea together. I just saw him because we crossed the Zenan Bridge at the same time. It was the oddest group that I've ever laid my eyes on. First there was Kyui Wara, but he was with three other people."

"And who might they have been? King Guardia and his loyal retainers mayhap?" the second continued on in sarcasm.

The first man's face flared bright red in anger. "No, two of them were women. Both young and pretty too. One looked a lot like Kyui Wara himself. Had the same hair and eyes. Might be that she's his sister or some other kin, though she did look rather frail and sickly.

"The other girl was odder yet. I think it was her eyes. They were a gray blue and would have been stunning I s'pose. Except they were all lifeless like. She looked like she was in a trance or something."

Flare's head snapped back up. He remembered distinctly the dull look in Gina's eyes after she fell back under Xavius's spell.

"And the last man looked the strangest of all. He was dressed all in black. Even though it was as hot as a horse's arse out there, and his hair was shining all weird like. I can't really describe it, but it was shining!"

Flare looked over at Tai and could tell by the surprised smile on his face that he had also heard the two men speaking. "I told you we could find him," he said brightly.

The two friends both started to rise so they could question the portly man at the bar when someone else beat them to it. Another man at the end of the bar literally jumped from his seat and dashed over to the portly man and his friend. "When?" he demanded.

"Huh?" The portly man jumped a bit as the newcomer startled him. "When what?" he asked confusion clearly splayed across his round face.

"When did you see him? Kyui Wara? You said at the Zenan Bridge, but when did you see them? How long ago?" The newcomer was shouting now, and the whole tavern had gone silent as all eyes drifted over to watch the scene.

"Uh…well," the startled man stammered. "I got back into Truce last night so about two and a half days ago I guess."

Without saying another word the man swept out of the tavern. Flare looked over at Tai and said, "We're going with him. I'd bet anything that he'll be able to get us to Xavius."

"Right," Tai agreed. "Hurry and catch him, I'll run upstairs and grab our stuff."

Flare ran out of the tavern in pursuit of the mystery man as Tai headed up to their room. The man was walking quickly away from the tavern when Flare ran up waving his arms and yelling, "Hold up! Stop!"

The man spun around to face Flare. He was tall, standing a few inches above six foot. His eyes were the deep gray color of storm clouds, and his brown hair was worn long and tied back in a loose ponytail. He wore a broad sword on his left hip, a one-handed battle axe on his right, and a circular metal shield hung on his back.

Flare realized after the man had spun to face him that he was the spitting image of a story book knight. Tall and strong, Flare could even see the chain mail that he was wearing under his travel worn shirt.

The man looked slightly confused but then an expression of understanding dawned in his eyes. "Of course, you want payment for my meal." The knight-looking-man reached into his shirt and produced several coins. "Here this should pay for it."

"No, you don't understand. I'm not from the inn. I want to go with you," Flare explained as he declined the money.

"I'm afraid that is impossible," the man said with a frown. "I travel alone."

He started to turn away again when Flare said, "I'm chasing the same group that you are, and I'm unfamiliar with the lands below the Zenan Bridge."

The knight-looking-man's frown deepened as he appraised Flare. "What business do you have with Kyui Wara?"

"None," Flare replied. "I'm after the man he was with. The one who was dressed all in black. I just figured that I'd have a better chance of finding him if I went with you."

"This may be; however, I've already told you that I travel alone. I am sorry." the man turned to leave again when Flare grabbed his shoulder.

"If I don't travel with you then I'll be traveling behind you. I will follow you until you lead me to where I want to go." Flare's voice was calm but uncompromising.

"And if I was to stop you from pursuing me, say, by force. What then," the man asked after turning to face Flare again.

Flare patted the _Crimson Eon _on his hip and replied, "Then you might just get hurt."

The knight-looking-man considered Flare for a moment and then broke into a wide smile, "I like you. Determination shines in your eyes. I guess that I'll make an exception to my rule and take on a traveling partner."

"Make that two traveling partners," cut in Tai who ran up to the group holding two large packs.

"This is my friend Tai," Flare introduced. "He goes where I go. Oh, and by the way my name is Flare."

The knight-looking-man considered the two for another moment and then nodded. "So be it. Sir Flare and Sir Tai, you both may accompany me but only for as long as it takes to reach Kyui Wara and his group. And if perchance the one that you're seeking parts ways with Kyui Wara then we shall separate as well."

"Agreed," said Flare.

"My name is Randall," the man added as he shook hands with both Flare and Tai. "I suggest we start pursuing right away. For they have over two full days march on us."

Flare nodded in agreement as he shouldered his pack of supplies. "Then let's start now."

* * *

Kyui Wara walked silently behind the rest of the group. His sister who was too weak to walk long distances on her own rode on the back of a small horse, and the man calling himself Xavius was up front along with the strange girl that he called Gina.

The girl gave him the creeps. She did whatever Xavius told her to do and never showed any emotion of any kind. As far as he could tell she hadn't spoken a single word either. It was her eyes that disturbed him the most though. Something was wrong with them. It was almost like they were lifeless. The eyes of a corpse.

As creepy as the girl was, Xavius himself was a hundred times worse. Everything about him set off mental alarms in Kyui Wara's head. From the way the man dressed, to his shining hair, to the way that he laughed. The man also struck him as extremely dangerous. It was a combination of confidence and power that flowed from him that Kyui Wara sensed.

Xavius also appeared to be an incredible magic user. His hair alone denoted some power, and he had demonstrated some power as proof of his abilities when they had first met, but Kyui Wara did not trust the man at all. He never would have agreed to help him if it hadn't been for Riiza's disease.

His younger sister had been ill for years, and it was getting steadily worse. He had not believed that she would live throughout the next winter. Then a few days back Xavius and that strange girl had shown up. He seemed to know all about both himself and Riiza.

He had told them that Riiza had a special ability that he needed, and that if the two of them were to help him out that he would cure her of her illness. He claimed that the herbs needed to make the cure grew on the peak of the Denadoro Mountains.

Normally Kyui Wara would never have trusted the man, but he was getting desperate, and time was growing short. He had decided to take the chance and follow him. If what Xavius claimed was true and he could cure Riiza then he would do all that he could to aid the man in his cause, but, if it turned out that the man was lying, he would kill him.

Kyui Wara nodded to himself as he decided this. He could feel the power flowing off of Xavius in thick sheets. He would be difficult to kill, yes, but far from impossible. After all, killing was what Kyui Wara did best.


	9. Randall's Story

**Chapter ****9: Randall's Story**

Flare and the others moved swiftly across the land. Normally it would take two or more days just to reach the Zenan Bridge, but Randall was determined to clear the bridge by the end of the second day. They kept moving until it had been dark for an hour or more before they made camp for the night. After a quick meal of cold jerky they all went to bed.

They continued their march south long before the sun rose and reached the bridge well before sunset. By nightfall they had made it to the town of Dorino and stayed the night at the local inn.

Finding leads on Xavius and Kyui Wara's group turned out to be an easy task. It seemed that almost everyone recognized the famed assassin. Shortly after breakfast they heard that the group had been seen heading east. The well worn main road that they had followed from Truce down to Dorino continued south toward the nation of Porre, but once they left the road to continue east Randall had been able to pick up their trail quite easily.

"Three of them are walking, one riding," Randall announced after an examination of the foot prints. "From the size and depth of the prints I'd say that one of the females is walking and both of the men. This print here is Kyui Wara's. I'd recognize his tracks anywhere.

"This smaller set must be the girl, and the larger set must belong to your Xavius. Judging from the distance between the strides I'd say that they are going fairly slow. Probably due to the girl that we hear is ill."

Flare and Tai were both quite impressed by Randall's skill as a tracker. They could barely tell that there were prints even on the ground. "So we should catch up to them soon, right?" Flare asked anxiously.

Randall nodded and said, "If we continue this pace we should have them by tomorrow night; however, I suggest that we now slow down a bit. Now that we have found their trail I won't lose it. This way we won't be exhausted when we reach them."

Flare thought it over briefly. He was more anxious than ever to catch up to Xavius and Gina; even so, when they did reach them he didn't want to be dog tired like in their last encounter. "Okay," he said finally. "Your right, we should take it easier on the road now that we know we can catch them."

That night they camped within a small grove of trees. Randall built them a campfire and they enjoyed a warm meal.

"I am curious, why do you seek the man called Xavius?" Randall asked but quickly added. "Of course, it is no businesses of mine, so if you want to keep your privacy I understand."

"I don't mind telling," Flare said after another bite of stew. "We're chasing him because he kidnapped a friend of ours. The girl who is said to follow him like she is in a trance. Well, she is in a trance."

Randall nodded and said, "Perhaps she is more than just a friend?"

"Huh?" said Flare caught off guard.

"By the determination that shone in your eyes when you spoke of following me, It would seem that she is more than a mere friend."

Flare nodded an affirmative then replied, "I was…going to ask her to marry me before the summer's end."

"And why are you chasing this Kyui Wara," Tai asked looking up from his bowl of stew.

"Nothing so noble as a rescue mission I'm afraid," Randall sighed. "My reason is nothing more than base vengeance."

"Oh, I'm sorry," stammered Tai apologetically, feeling slightly awkward.

Randall dismissed his apology with the wave of his hand. "I'm surprised that you don't know all ready. It wasn't much of a private affair."

"Oh," said Tai in surprise then quickly covered with the story that Flare had made earlier. "We're both originally from Choras. So we don't get a whole lot of news about the lands to the east."

Randall accepted the explanation and let out another sigh. "Well, in that case I'll tell you. After all you could find out easily in just about any tavern in the Northern Zenan."

After a few moments of thought Randall began to speak, "I told you my name already, but what I did not say was that I was once a Knight of the Square Table. Both myself and my brother. My twin brother, Richard, always dreamed of one day becoming Knights. We practiced swordplay religiously as children, both of us were natural talents, and by our twenty third birthday we were not only knights, but Knights of the Square Table.

"Our childhood dream had been realized, and life seemed good. With the war going on we both knew that one day one of us might fall to the blade of a mystic, yet even so, we both knew that we were defending Guardia. That was something that both of us believed worthy of our lives.

"My brother was found slain. He did not fall to the sword of an imp or the axe of a hench, but to the blades of a fellow human. Kyui Wara killed my brother. All of his dreams died that day…his life…a life that he could have done so much good with…was wasted that day."

Randall had been staring into the low burning fire as he spoke, but now he looked back up to face Flare and Tai. "I could not forgive Kyui Wara, unfortunately I couldn't forget either. I became…obsessed. I couldn't focus on my duties…and I resigned from my post. The King was generous and let me go freely, though he could have rightly charged me with treason.

"I brought dishonor to myself, and I disgraced the Knights of the Square Table…but…even now I don't regret my decision. The King made it clear that I could return at any time. I won't though…until I avenge my brother…I won't rest."

If Flare hadn't thought that Randall's eyes resembled storm clouds before, he did now. He could almost see the lightning flickering inside of those dark orbs as he spoke. Flare could see the depths of his hate and discovered to his horror that he was scared. He felt like he might be skewered by that hatred on the spot, it didn't matter that it wasn't aimed at him.

As quickly as the emotion had appeared it vanished. Randall blinked a few times and then sighed. "My apologies. I didn't mean to get worked up."

The trio ate the rest of their meal in silence. Neither Flare nor Tai knew how to respond to Randall's story. The absolute hatred that shone in his eyes when he spoke of Kyui Wara dwarfed all other hatred that Flare had ever seen, even his own that he now harbored for Xavius. Of course there was still a chance at recovering what Xavius had stolen.

Flare wondered silently of what would happen to him if Gina died because of Xavius. Would he be as consumed by hate as Randall was? Would he give up everything just to hunt Xavius to the ends of the earth even if there was no gain in doing so? If he could save Gina, yes of course, but if she was already lost would he continue his pursuit? Would anything else matter?

They all went to sleep early that night. Each one wanted to be rested for when they finally reached their destination. It would take everything that they had to win the coming battle. All three of them wanted to be prepared.

* * *

The Denadoro Mountains loomed in front of the group, a great dark mass against the evening sky. Their pace was slow. The girl Riiza was getting sicker by the day and even riding she couldn't travel very quickly.

Xavius didn't mind though. Riiza was as important to his plans as Gina was. He hadn't anticipated one of his '_keys_' to be in such a condition. Her illness was advanced, and with the medical technology of the current age she didn't have a chance to live much longer. He had done as much as he could to aid her, but healing magic was not his forte.

In order to cure her completely he would need the aids of a certain root that only grew at the top of the Denadoro Mountains. She would stay alive long enough to make the trip, and when they reached their destination Xavius planned on curing her as quickly as he could. How infuriating would it be if his grand quest was ended because of a simple disease?

After she was cured he would create the next Gate. The four of them would travel through it together and his quest would continue. Originally he hadn't planned on taking anyone save for the '_keys_' with him, but Kyui Wara seemed like competent help. If half the tales that the people in this era told about him were true then he was just the kind of minion that Xavius needed.

The best part was that after he cured Kyui Wara's precious sister then the assassin would follow him loyally. Good help was hard to find, and with Kyui Wara, Xavius had struck gold.

"There's someone up ahead," the white haired assassin pointed out.

Xavius smiled. The fact that Kyui Wara could see that well in the poor light of dusk without any magical aid to his vision was impressive. "Yes," Xavius confirmed, "Two people actually. Both look to be woman. Both of them in their mid to late twenties."

Kyui Wara was well versed in hiding his emotions, but he let the doubt show plainly on his face. It was too far a distance and the light too poor to correctly distinguish the sex, let alone the age, of whoever was on the road ahead. This is why Xavius relished the look of surprise that was splayed across his when they got near enough for him to see for himself.

"Careful," Kyui Wara warned, "woman rarely travel alone in such dark times. These could be mystics in disguise. Such a trick is common."

"Oh, they are mystics. Their disguise is quite poor," Xavius stated casually.

Once again Kyui Wara openly displaced doubt for the claim. A mystic's disguise was without flaws. No one, not even himself could tell the difference.

"Oy travelers!" the first woman called out once they were no farther away than thirty yards. "Are we glad to see people! We got separated from our caravan and have been lost for days. Please, let us travel with you. At least until we are able to reach civilization again."

"I think not," Xavius called out. "After all I have heard that mystics don't make the best traveling partners."

The two women looked shocked at the statement but the second one replied, "You're wrong! Our tale is true. Please don't turn us away."

Xavius laughed into the cool evening air. "I tire of your silly masquerade. You waste my time."

Before either woman could respond Xavius snapped his fingers. At the sharp crack of his fingers the two women changed instantly. Their legs fused together and became like a giant snake tail, and their once pretty faces only remained vaguely human. Their eyes became the slitted eyes of snakes and their mouths grew savage fangs. Each of them held a long curved sword in each hand.

"What trickery is thisss human?" the first mystic hissed in surprise.

"It matersss not, sissster," the second said to the first. "Let usss kill these humansss and be done with it."

What to do? Xavius could easily kill the two mystics, but he wouldn't gain much out of that. He could let Kyui Wara do it. It would be a good test to see his usefulness. No, Kyui Wara's talent shouldn't be wasted on such a weak opponent. Xavius nodded to himself as he decided his course of action.

Kyui Wara was stunned at the transformation. How had the sorcerer known? He hadn't heard of a magic that could detect mystics. It didn't matter now though. The two monsters were attacking. He drew his two scimitars and started walking toward to two charging snake creatures. They would die quickly.

"Hold," said Xavius as he held the assassin back with an outstretched arm. "I have a better idea."

The two monsters stopped only few meters short of the four humans. Kyui Wara watched as they struggled to move forward. Xavius had stopped them! It was the only explanation. He continued to watch as the two snake monsters slowly ceased to struggle and the light died out from their eyes.

"You are my servants now," Xavius said firmly. "You will lead us into the Denadoro Mountains."

Kyui Wara felt a sudden chill. He suddenly realized what was wrong with the girl Xavius had brought with him. "Why not us?" he asked.

"Pardon?" Xavius replied.

"It is obvious that you can control minds. You are doing it to these mystics, and it is apparent that you did it to this other girl as well. Why haven't you done it to my sister or me?" Kyui Wara said.

Xavius smiled broadly at the assassin. "You are correct. I can control minds, but it is harder than it appears. I can possess any number of mystics with ease, humans however are much more challenging. They have a much higher resistance to magic than other races. That is why, even though mystics can use magic more commonly than humans, all the greatest wizards have been human.

"And I can only control a limited number of humans at a time. Gina was unwilling to freely aid me. You and your sister will help me though. Because if you don't help me I will not cure her and she dies."

Kyui Wara felt a surge of hatred rise from his gut. How dare this man so openly threaten him? How dare he use him as a common tool? The feeling didn't go away entirely but it subsided quickly, and the assassin regained control, because Xavius was right, Kyui Wara would help him. Unless he wanted his sister to die he would do anything that he was told.


	10. Showdown on the Denadoro

**Chapter 10: Showdown on the Denadoro**

Randall had followed the trail to the base of the Denadoro Mountains, and quickly determined that Xavius and the others had started to climb. After the second day of climbing he became certain that Xavius and Kyui Wara were making their way to the peak or some point close to it.

Hiking up the Denadoro Mountains turned out to be easier than either Flare or Tai had expected. Despite the imposing appearance they were exceptionally painless to traverse. Due to the high traffic that the Denadoro received, a well worn trail had been carved into the side of the mountain.

In the early days of the Kingdom of Guardia the mountains had been a training ground for the Royal Knights. After other training grounds had been established nearer to the capital, the Denadoro Mountains were visited less and less. Now the mountains were home only to fugitives and vagabonds of both human and mystic heritage.

"Keep an open eye," warned Randall. "In recent years the only residents these mountains have held are the sort we would do good to avoid. Though, I doubt we shall find trouble. The folk up here usually tend to stay out of each other's business."

"If we do find trouble we can handle it," Flare assured the ex-knight.

"I know a good swordsman when I see one," Randall returned. "The two of you have the presence of fine warriors. I have no doubt that you are both very capable."

"Capable or not I'm just glad that Xavius decided to take the easiest path up the mountain," Tai said.

"Easier for the ill girl I would assume. There are faster routes to the peak, but this would be the one best suited for a sickly person," Randall said.

"Reaching our destination might not be too difficult, but the hard part won't start until we've reached our goal," Flare reminded his friend.

"Yeah, I know," Tai said. "I know."

"We're getting close," Randall said suddenly. "We should reach the peak in only a few short hours, ready yourselves."

* * *

"We're being followed," the assassin said coldly.

"I know," the sorcerer replied.

"There's more than one pursuer. Likely they're residents of this mountain that don't yet know of their foolishness," Kyui Wara reasoned.

"No," Xavius replied simply. "They started trailing us sometime before we reached these mountains."

This caught Kyui Wara off guard and he shifted slightly in his cross legged sitting position. He no longer doubted Xavius's proclamations. The man had shown real power time and time again, and now that he had been true to his word and cured Riiza of her illness, Kyui Wara's loyalty to him was unwavering. At least for now.

As soon as they had reached their final destination Xavius had set to work. They were on a large flat cliff that overlooked the Zenan continent. Flowers and wild weeds grew at random and in great numbers on the ground around their feet. In the thin mountain air their fragrance was near overpowering.

The sorcerer worked diligently collecting various weeds, petals and roots. In less than two hours he had a small stew cooking over a magically generated campfire. After it was completed he instructed Riiza to eat it and then get some sleep.

Almost two days had passed since Riiza had drunk the cure and as far as Kyui Wara could tell it had worked. It was possible that Xavius had lied to him, but he didn't believe that to be the case. He had a feeling that Xavius wasn't the type of person who would lie. He was the kind of person who didn't need to lie. Only the weak had to rely on deception. The stronger ones like Xavius, and Kyui Wara himself, could get what they needed by using the truth. The truth coupled with their own strength.

"Who in their right minds would follow us?" Kyui Wara wondered allowed. "I can think of only one man who would follow after me; however, he works alone."

"The other two are my acquaintances," Xavius answered. "I believe their names are Flare and Tai. They're after Gina."

"And they followed you through time?" Kyui Wara asked. "Must be persistent." At first when Xavius had told him that he was traveling through time, he thought the man was mad, but now he found himself believing his every word.

"To be honest I'm not sure how they managed to follow me through the Gate," Xavius confessed. "It matters not, they're of little concern. Their companion I don't know. He appears to be a knight."

Kyui Wara gave a little chuckle, "I'd bet it's my old friend."

"Take care of them," Xavius ordered. "I must finish preparations on the Gate. Kill them if you want, or spare them. As long as they don't reach the summit by sunset I'm happy."

Kyui Wara nodded and headed down the trail. He despised taking orders from anyone, but he didn't really have a choice in this matter.

The naga-ettes that Xavius had brainwashed began hissing impatiently. "Very well," Xavius answered them. "Kyui Wara, our pets are growing anxious. Bring them along and let them play."

Kyui Wara nodded again. He walked down the trail in search of the pursuers. The Naga-ettes slithered after him.

* * *

Flare was nervous. The realization that he was about to meet up with Xavius again had just set in. In less than an hour. That was his thought. It replayed in his mind over and over again. In less than an hour, we'll be confronting Xavius in less than an hour.

He was so caught up in this thought that he didn't realize that Randall had stopped walking and bumped into his back. "Huh?" Flare muttered but then stopped silent when he saw the figure standing before them.

Only fifty feet in front of them a man had stepped out of the brush and onto the trail blocking their path. Although neither Flare nor Tai had seen him before they knew him instantly. His hair was as white as snow, and his eyes were amber gold. Not an eye color that you see everyday. The man was short. Probably no taller than Tai, but he was not stocky, instead he looked very wiry. Fast, Flare thought. I bet this man is incredibly _fast_.

"Kyui Wara," Randall said, his voice dripped with venom.

The white haired man gave a short bow, "Randall…"

Kyui Wara looked as if he were to say more but Randall cut him off. "Stay back," he growled at Flare and Tai. He drew his sword, raised his shield, which he had been wearing on his left arm ever since they reached the mountain, and gave a battle cry that was so primal that anyone listening would have thought it was the howl of some savage beast. Then he charged head first into the assassin that had killed his brother.

At first it looked like Kyui Wara was going to be cut down in the initial charge, but at the last second he drew twin scimitars and deflected the blow as he sidestepped lightly to the left. Flare marveled at the speed. He had never seen a man draw so fast. Not even Refla.

Randall turned back to Kyui Wara and unleashed a barrage of slashes and cuts. The assassin blocked the attacks with almost no effort. Still Randall pushed forward. Striking high and then working his blade low, but no matter what pattern he used Kyui Wara would deflect the blows.

Flare was mesmerized by the amazing display of swordsmanship. Randall's strikes might have looked berserk and out of control, but Flare knew better. Each and every one of the ex-knight's maneuvers were perfectly timed and executed. Kyui Wara was even more amazing. He was so light on his feet that it appeared that he was dancing around the raging warrior. His parries were perfect. The only thing bothering Flare was the fact that Kyui Wara was missing openings. Several of which Flare had spotted easily. Suddenly it dawned on Flare. Kyui Wara was toying with Randall. As good as the Ex-Knight was, Randall was no match for the white haired assassin. We have to help him, Flare decided. Maybe if the three of them were to gang up on Kyui Wara they might have a chance. Maybe if they- "Flare look out!" Tai screamed.

Flare jumped back just in time as a large curved sword swished inches in front of his face. From the side of the trail a mystic naga-ette emerged swinging two large curved swords wildly at Flare. "Ambush!" Flare cried as he drew his katana. From the sound of ringing steel behind him he could tell that Tai was already engaged in battle.

The naga-ette's duel swords weaved in front her half-snake body. The web of steel might have intimidated lesser fighters, but Flare was far from impressed. Quickly figuring out the mystic's pattern he jabbed his blade in at a point where it caused one of her arms to slash itself open on his katana.

The beast hissed in pain and jerked its injured arm back. That was all the opening Flare needed. With a quick horizontal slash he amputated the monster's already injured arm. It half growled and half hissed in agony as it realized that Flare had removed one of its limbs. Flare knocked its remaining sword to the side and then plunged his katana deep within the monster's belly.

Its agonized hissing died away and the monster gasped for breath, and then fell forever silent. Flare glanced over just in time to watch Tai cut the second mystic's head off.

"Are there anymore?" Flare asked as he scanned the area.

"I don't think so," Tai answered. Just then Randall gave a cry of pain that turned their gaze. He was on his knees and bleeding from various small wounds. Kyui Wara stood about thirty feet away with his back turned towards Randall.

"You're still not good enough to kill me," Kyui Wara taunted. "While I enjoy this game, my time is short. Don't worry though; I'll leave you alive so you may continue your meaningless quest for vengeance."

Randall let go of his sword and moved his hand down to his hip where the hand axe hung. In one blinding movement he twisted his torso around and flung the axe at Kyui Wara's back. The assassin dropped to his stomach with unreal speed; the axe stuck harmlessly into a nearby tree.

Kyui Wara nimbly sprung back to his feet and walked back over to his fallen adversary. "Nice try, as always, but again it was too slow." At these words the assassin kicked Randall in the head sending him to the ground where he lay limp.

After dispatching Randall, Kyui Wara turned his attention to the two onlookers. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have a job to do. And that job is to make sure that you don't reach the summit."

Tai looked nervously over to Flare then asked, "Can we beat him?"

Flare's blood was running cold with fear. Fighting this man would be about as useless as trying to fight Refla. They were good, but this man was a master. Then his thoughts drifted to Gina. He had to rescue her. Master or not, this man was just an obstacle. "We'll go with Number Eight."

"Sure, why not? Any strategy's better than none, I guess." Tai readied his blade. During their training the two of them had learned several pre-arranged battle plans. There were plans for every situation. Number Eight was made especially for taking on a single opponent.

Flare began to circle around to the assassin's back side. Tai made as to circle in the opposite direction; instead he burst into a sudden charge. Throwing all of his strength into an aggressive series of strikes. Not surprisingly the assassin effortlessly blocked each one. Tai countered the brilliant display of swordsmanship by purposefully slipping and crashing onto his back.

Flare watched as the assassin took advantage of the opening. His timing had to be perfect. Too soon and the attack would fail. Too late and Tai would be killed. With speed and precession born from relentless drilling Flare took aim and fired with his crossbow. His timing was perfect; however, the assassin pulled out of his attack and batted the bolt from the air, while using the opportunity to kick Tai in the face.

"Not bad," Kyui Wara said. "Very well rehearsed. His trip looked completely natural. And attacking with a crossbow so quickly? That took some unexpected skill. Had you used that attack on most other fighters you'd almost certainly have succeeded. I'd judge that even one of Randall's skill would have been killed."

Flare tossed the crossbow to the side and retook a battle stance, pulling his katana over his right shoulder with the blade pointed toward Kyui Wara. The attack had failed, now Tai was unconscious, and he faced the assassin alone. He couldn't win on skill alone. He had known that from the beginning, that's why he had chosen Number Eight. He had hoped to win by employing a trick.

Flare lunged. Kyui Wara blocked with one scimitar and countered with the other. Flare ducked and let loose with a frenzy of slashes, using an attack routine he had once seen Refla practice. It was almost too complex for him to handle, but he had practiced it secretly none the less. At full speed the routine might have thrown the assassin off balance, but as skilled as Flare was, he wasn't near the level of Refla.

Kyui Wara parried the strikes until an opening inevitably formed. A lighting fast kick to the gut dropped the red headed warrior to his knees. A kick to the head knocked him out cold.

* * *

Every time Kyui Wara fought Randall he won, but he always let him live. To the assassin, Randall's relentless pursuit was both amusing and intriguing. Killing him would only end the game, but the other two would normally not have received the same mercy.

Kyui Wara had felled them both using non lethal blows for a reason. He didn't trust Xavius, and he knew better than to underestimate him. These two had managed to follow the sorcerer through time. They served no real threat. Dead they'd be no use to anyone, but if left alive the assassin might eventually be able to use them to his advantage.

The assassin nodded to himself as he headed up the mountain. It would be best to just let things play themselves out.

* * *

Xavius stood in front of the Gate with his arms spread wide. "This is the path through time!" he declared.

Kyui Wara was impressed. It was a feat in itself to impress him, but Xavius seemed to do it continually and without trouble. "Where will it take us," Kyui Wara asked.

"To ages that were before record. We shall go to a time when the first great ice age was beginning. When mankind would struggle to survive and an ancient race, the reptites, would fail to do so. There is a sage there. A reptite sage that will tell me where to find the next '_key_'," Xavius explained, his voice overcoming even the roaring of the Gate.

Kyui Wara nodded and then turned to his sister and asked, "Are you ready?"

Riiza looked a little frightened but she nodded. "Yes, let's go through the Gate."

The sorcerer pointed to Gina. "Take her through the Gate with your sister. I'll follow afterwards."

Kyui Wara frowned and made no attempt to move. "Why?"

"Because," Xavius said. "Only three can enter a Gate at one time. There are four of us. So you three go, and I'll follow."

As far as Kyui Wara could reason, the sorcerer had nothing to gain by eliminating them in this fashion. He needed the girls, so it was unlikely that the Gate would cause any harm. The assassin and the two girls entered the Gate. It closed a moment later.

Xavius shivered with excitement. His plan was moving forward faster than he could have hoped for. His foolish brother thought him dead, but Xavius had never felt so alive. So powerful. The Gate opened again, and Xavius stepped through. Half a mile away the only people who could stop him, the only people who knew that there was something to be stopped, lay unconscious.

Not even able to defeat a mere swordsman, Flare hoped to challenge what might as well have been a god.


	11. The Ioka

**Chapter ****11: The Ioka**

Flare pulled his heavy cloak tight against himself. He and Tai had brought warm enough clothing for most weather conditions; however, this was beyond even their most extreme predictions. The air was so thick with snow that vision was almost entirely cut off. In order to keep together the three marched in a single column, clinging onto each other's clothing.

The merciless wind cut through Flare's cloak. His skin burned with cold. The snow was now up to his waist, and trudging through it was becoming increasingly difficult. Each step brought him closer to exhaustion, but to stop moving would mean certain death. Flare kept his mind focused on Gina. If they died no one would save her. With that thought, he pressed on through the ever deepening snow.

When they had first emerged through the Gate the blizzard had yet to begin. They had found themselves on a snow covered mountain pass overlooking a vast valley. "It seems your word is true. If this place existed in my own time I'm lacking in knowledge." Randall had said once he examined the alien surroundings.

Flare had been surprised how easily Randall accepted their tale of time travel. He assumed that Randall's hatred of Kyui Wara was so great that it mattered not where the Gate led, as long as the assassin could be found on the other side. Randall had in fact started the search as soon as he had gained his bearings, locating a trail almost instantly.

The trail was not just footprints, but an entire path cut from the snow, as if a plow had been moving in front of the group. Randall had stooped to his knees to get a closer look, "This is them. This trail's been carved by the sorcerer's magic. I can make out the tracks of all four of them. Let us make haste. Our foes shall regret their arrogance when they meet us once more."

Neither Flare nor Tai argued. Taking a break only long enough for the three of them to don their winter gear, the group started down the trail. Less than an hour latter the blizzard began. Now the trail was lost. Its convenience seeming far away, and the prospect of a freezing death all too close.

* * *

The blizzard was a mild distraction. The four travelers were only vaguely aware of its presence, for Xavius's magic held the storm at bay. Leaving Kyui Wara impressed, and his sister amused. Despite him saving her life, Riiza seemed to trust the sorcerer less than her older brother. Still the site of such magic brought a smile to her lips. A thing Kyui Wara had rarely seen over the last few years.

Xavius cut his trail seemingly at random. The bubble of magic that kept the elements away was relatively small, and vision beyond it was limited to the white flurry of snow. Still, the others had no doubt that Xavius could see past the snow using some form of magic. The feeling of being led blindfolded down a trail had overcome Kyui Wara. A feeling that for the most part was completely foreign, and surprisingly unsettling to the skilled assassin. "Where are we headed?" He asked.

Without turning Xavius replied, "Down the mountain and into the valley. From there we head northeast. Our destination is a volcano. That is where the great sage lives."

Kyui Wara nodded and returned to silence, but his sister looked over at the sorcerer with a questioning glance. "He lives inside a volcano? How would he manage such a thing?"

A humorless smile played across Xavius's lips. "As I said earlier, the sage is of the reptite species. Unlike men, who are mammals and can produce their own body heat, the reptites are as their name implies, reptilian. They are cold blooded, as are all reptiles.

"This is the first great ice age the planet will come to know. The reptites are ill suited for such weather. The remainders of their already damaged species now cling to the heat of the great volcanoes of the east in order to keep warm. Eventually the volcanoes will cease activity, and the reptites will perish."

"That's awful!" Riiza gasped, clasping a hand to her mouth. "Those poor creatures, doomed to freeze to death."

"Don't feel too sorry for them," Xavius replied with a mocking smirk. "The reptites have no love for humans. If it wasn't for the fortunate timing of this ice age, they likely would have wiped humanity out completely."

"Then won't they meet us with hostility?" Kyui Wara asked.

"They won't know we're humans," Xavius answered. "It is a simple thing to cloak us in illusions. The reptites are unaccustomed to human magic."

The assassin merely nodded his head again. With every passing moment the sorcerer revealed more powers. For the first time since the journey began he questioned his ability to kill the powerful mage, and for the first time in his life the twin scimitars that he carried felt inadequate.

* * *

Flare was frozen to his bones. He felt numb and sleepy. How far they had gone he couldn't tell. Time had stopped flowing in the endless sea of white.

Tai stumbled and fell. Through the snow Flare could see the faint outline of Randall turn and help him to his feet. They were approaching their limit. This Flare knew. Whether they lasted another fifteen minutes, or another hour, their time was soon up. Just as Flare's mind drifted to the terrifying thoughts of defeat, the snow ceased.

Looking around Flare realized his first impression had been wrong. The snow hadn't stopped falling. They had entered a cave. He let go of Tai's cloak as he stumbled into his companions. The cave tunnel went for about forty feet before opening up into a larger chamber. Warm light danced off the natural stone walls.

Flare could see men sitting around a fire. They wore thick fur coats and had long unkempt hair. The men stared at the newcomers in surprise. Flare tried to say something, but his mouth didn't want to move. The cave suddenly seemed so warm. Before anyone could say anything he slumped to the floor in exhaustion.

* * *

Flare woke to the sound of voices. He was wrapped in a large fur, next to a warmly burning fire. The fire felt so good he hated to wake up, but curiosity won over, and he pulled himself into a sitting position. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he gazed around the room taking in everything he saw.

He was in the same cave they had reached before he passed out. It was a large circular chamber with a high domed ceiling. The walls were dark and gray with a crystal like substance imbedded in them. The light from the fire caused the whole chamber to sparkle like the night sky. The scene gave Flare the impression of the sun burning in the middle of the universe, surrounded by millions of far away shimmering stars.

In one of the corners a large stack of wood sat next to a sled. The sled was crudely fashioned, being made mostly out of stone, and it was overflowing with what appeared to be large sides of beef. Next to the stone sled lay a large furry animal that Flare didn't recognize at all. It was about the size of a cow, but had shorter legs and no horns. Its entire body was covered with thick coarse black hair. The strange creature was curled up and lay fast asleep. Nearby was a second sled, full of furs, and a second strange creature slept next to it.

Tai and two men Flare didn't recognize sat around the fire, eating large slabs of cooked meat. Near the cave's entrance Randall stood next to the largest man Flare had ever seen. Though Randall was tall by most anyone's standards, next to the behemoth of a man he looked quite small.

The man was easily over seven feet in height, and was the most powerfully muscled man Flare could remember seeing. He had wild golden hair that hung past his shoulders and clear blue eyes. Despite the fire's warmth the cave was still chilly, and despite this the large man was bare chested, wearing only a fur loincloth type garment. Flare realized that the other two strangers were clothed in the same fashion

Noticing his friend's recovery Tai handed him a generous chunk of cooked meat. Without preamble Flare wolfed it down, savoring the sheer hotness of the freshly cooked meal. When he had finished Tai handed him another piece. "Glad to see you could join the party. You know, you had me worried for a bit."

After ripping another chunk of meat off with his teeth Flare asked, "How long was I out?"

Tai shrugged. "Not too long. All night and most of the day. It's a few hours past noon, now. The storm broke a short while ago, but Wroff says it's best not to leave until morning. That way we'll have a full day to make it to the next shelter point before nightfall."

The simple logic made sense to Flare who accepted with a nod. "Makes sense." He took another bite as Tai tossed him a water skin. He drank deeply and the flavor surprised him. It was a thick fruitlike drink that tasted strongly of spices, and though he wasn't positive, Flare suspected it was alcoholic in nature. "What's this?"

Tai laughed at his friend's expression. "The drinks called moojobu. It's supposed to keep you warm and increase your stamina. Just don't drink too much. Wroff's told us a couple amusing stories of climbing these mountains while suffering from what he calls 'moojobu skull pain'. Though I don't think it's overly strong, so fill free to drink a little more."

The flavor didn't catch him off guard the second drink, and he found that it was quite enjoyable. "Who's Wroff?"

"The big guy," Tai answered. Then motioning to the two other strangers at the fire he said, "And these two are Kumo and Notta."

Aware that he was being talked about the large man turned his attention to the group around the fire. "The red haired one wakes. Good." His voice was as deep and booming as Flare had imagined the seven foot giant's voice would be, but it was good natured and thick with humor. He grinned broadly taking a seat next to the fire. "Future be warmer? Yes?"

Flare started at the unexpected comment and was struck momentarily speechless before saying to Randall, "Do they believe us?" He wasn't sure whether the big man truly believed them or was simply making sport of an unlikely story. Also, he was a little surprised that Randall and Tai had told the truth as opposed to coming up with a more believable story.

Still standing Randall shrugged. "They must. We actually didn't tell them. They assumed it themselves."

Flare aimed a puzzled looked at the big man called Wroff. "You assumed we were from the future."

He laughed a hearty booming laugh. "Long time ago, before me, before long winter, people came from many days past tomorrow. We know of future. Wroff know strange people who appear at cave must be from future."

Flare shook his head in wonderment. "Other time travelers? Amazing. Wait, what year is it?"

"Who knows," Tai said. "Cave men don't keep track of time very well."

* * *

"They're marshalling. They mean to make war," Kyui Wara stated as he peered down into the volcanic valley.

"How many do you think there are? A Thousand?" The assassin's sister asked. Her voice held little fear, her question being prompted by simple curiosity.

"Five Thousand," The assassin answered. "More than thrice the number of humans I counted in the western valleys."

At this the girl's expression changed from curious to concerned. "We should warn the people. If nothing else they could group together. If that army hits them one village at a time they'll be wiped out."

The two siblings were interrupted by cold laughter from behind. Kyui Wara spun on blind instinct and drew his scimitars. As soon as he had done so he regretted it. Seeing the proud assassin's surprise caused Xavius to laugh harder. "Now now, you didn't think you were the only master of stealth did you?"

Ignoring the taunt and shoving aside his anger, Kyui Wara sheathed his blades. "What did you learn?"

"They march against the humans," Xavius answered.

The assassin's lip twitched only slightly, but this small display spoke greatly about his anger at being made sport at. "Obviously," he replied, his words ice cold.

Xavius laughed his infuriating little laugh again. "I see not much gets past you." The assassin didn't respond, not trusting himself to speak again until he regained total control.

Riiza said, "We should warn them." The statement was short and simple, meant only to break the tension.

The sorcerer smiled at the girl. "This is the past. History has already been written. The humans prevail over the reptites, and thus we inherit the earth."

She cast her eyes downward. The truth of his statement was so obvious she felt embarrassed to have even made the suggestion, and his gaze bothered her. Whenever he smiled at her like that it made her skin crawl. Feeling unease start to form into panic she forced herself to speak again, even if her questions were pointless. In the very least his cold mocking voice was better than his silent stare. "But how could they win against such odds? I don't understand how it's possible."

"Not everything's how it appears to be. This cold weather is a death sentence to the reptites. Without the volcanic heat their cold blooded bodies can't survive. Thus they intend to bring the volcano with them." He waved his hand toward the reptite army.

They stood next to a fiery lake of molten lava. The reptites seemed a lake of emerald green scales next to one of ruby fire, but within the reptite's ranks were large stone devices that blazed with fire and molten stone. Xavius continued to speak, "They will try keep warm by bringing part of the volcanoes' heat with them.

"But such small sources of heat won't sustain them long. By the time they reach the humans half or more will have died from the cold, and the ones that do survive will be slow and sluggish." The sorcerer shrugged. "Besides, the humans keep a close eye on the reptites. They won't be caught off guard."

Kyui Wara knew the last statement had been a taunt aimed at him. The feeling of helplessness continued to grow in his gut. Turning away from the sorcerer he pretended to observe the reptite swarm as they began their long march to the west. The assassin couldn't help but wonder if his sister's life had been bought at a price higher than they could both pay.

"Come," Xavius said, heading down the hill towards the volcano. "We have business with the reptite leader. Let us make haste."

* * *

The valley was warmer than the mountains. No, warmer wasn't the word, for the valley was still cold, and a foot of snow covered the ground. The valley was milder than the mountains. While cold, it wasn't the harsh and unforgiving cold of the highlands.

To Flare's surprise they had learned that this was the summer season. Had they arrived in winter they almost assuredly would have frozen to death in the mountains. The journey down to the valley had taken over two weeks, but luckily they hadn't run into anymore summertime blizzards.

Wroff, they learned, was chief of the Ioka tribe. Apparently, there were a dozen or so tribes that lived scattered throughout the valley, and the Ioka were the largest and most powerful. Every summer members of each tribe went into the mountains to hunt animals that only lived in the higher elevations. The rest of the year they hunted and gathered food in the valley.

It was just passed noon when they arrived at the Ioka village. The village consisted mostly of large fur tents, but a few crude stone buildings existed as well. According to Wroff only a few hundred people lived in the village, but Flare thought this estimation quite low. The village appeared to be bursting at the seems with people. All dressed in heavy fur hides much in the fashion of Wroff and the others. While indoors or inside a cave near fire they would were less clothing in order to stay used to the cold temperatures, but outside they wore the heavier clothing.

Wroff frowned as they entered the village. "Too many people. These not all Ioka." The big man looked around until he found a person he recognized, a short dark haired cavewoman. "Ellata, why other tribes with Ioka?"

The woman named Ellata looked up at her chief with a frown that matched his own. "Big news. It good you home. You should see your mother. Ayla at the ceremonial tent."

Wroff turned to Notta and Kumo. "Take fur and food to where they go. I go see what big news is." Turning his attention to the time travelers he said, "You come with me."

Tai nudged Flare in the ribs and said in low tones, "This place seems somber." Flare nodded. Even with the multitude of people the village was eerily quiet. Instead of laughing and playing the children huddled close to their parents. The adults spoke in hushed tones and kept throwing nervous glances off to the east. Wroff noticed the peculiar tone of the town as well. He accelerated his pace until Flare and the others had to nearly jog in order to keep pace with his long strides.

The ceremonial tent was less of a tent and more of a building. It was undoubtedly the largest structure in the village, being about ten times the size of the average tent The walls were stone, and the roof was cut from the same thick leather the rest of the tents were made of. Large plumes of smoke rose from a whole in the center of the building. Colorful murals adorned the walls, depicting a time devoid of snow, where dinosaurs of varying sizes lived and prospered. One wall was dedicated entirely to a battles scene in which cavemen and cavewomen fought savage looking humanoid reptiles.

"This is the ceremonial tent. As chief I live here. When I go to mountains and hunt, my mother and father lead village. Mother was last chief. Very strong," Wroff said as he brushed aside the leather flap that acted as a door and walked in.

The inside was even more impressive than the outside. Every wall was painted in the same fashion as the outside, but the pictures were brighter due to less exposure to the elements. One picture in particular stood out. The entire back wall was dedicated to a single battle. Seven people drawn to a life size scale engaged a giant porcupine like creature. Three of the combatants were women, one being a blonde cavewoman who Flare assumed to be Wroff's mother. One was a large man with pointed ears and long hair, another appeared to be a humanoid frog who held a broadsword, and one was a strange looking yellow creature that bore no resemblance to anything Flare had ever seen. In front of the others stood a seventh person with wild spiky red hair. In his hands he held a katana.

"Those must be the time travelers Wroff told us about," said Tai.

Flare nodded, his gaze not leaving the impressive mural. "Odd bunch."

Before they could continue their conversation their arrival was noticed. Eight people sat around the fire talking on what sounded to be something urgent. A woman stood up and smiled when she saw Wroff enter the room. "Wroff, good you here. Trouble."

Wroff frowned at the older looking woman. "What trouble, Mother? Why other villages all here with the Ioka?"

The woman's smile slowly faded as she regarded her son. She gave a nod of her head towards the others circling the fire. "These are chiefs from eastern tribes. They tell us reptites come."

The large man's frown changed to a disbelieving half smile. "The reptites no live in cold. They come. They die. So they no come."

A stocky caveman stood and spoke next. "Chief of the proud Ioka. You have my word as chief of Kullaka tribe. We watch the reptites very close. Many come. Thousands come. We have fled to the Ioka for help. Alone no tribe is winning against so many reptites."

Still Wroff seemed less than convinced. He shook his head, his expression incredulous. "Even if reptites come. They no live in cold. Reptites come, reptites die."

"Son, reptites smart. Reptites bring fire with them." An aging caveman stood next the chief's mother his blond hair having turned mostly gray from age. "Me and your mother believe other chiefs. Reptites know they all die soon. Reptites want to kill humans before they do. They bring volcano heat with them so they can live long enough to kill us."

A girl spoke next. She was the youngest person at the gathering, not looking much older than Flare or Tai. "Brother, please believe Mother and Father. The Hukono tribe has already been wiped out."

Wroff's frown deepened as he stood silent for a moment before speaking. "Hukono friends. If reptites want fight. Wroff fight."

"Excuse me," Randall said. When Wroff looked his direction he asked, "Have you ever faced an enemy in such great numbers before?"

Wroff's mother shook her head and answered for her son. "No. Before great winter came the reptites never cared enough of humans to send such big army. All fights against smaller numbers. But we had many fights. We are strong."

Randall nodded. "As I suspected. Any combat you've faced has been more or less smaller skirmishes. You'll need more than strength to win a battle of this scale. You'll need strategy."

"What strategy?" Wroff asked.

"A plan," Flare said. "He means that you need a plan in order to fight such a large battle."

Wroff considered for a moment. "In future. You fight battles with great numbers?"

"Yes," Randall answered. "Though I've never seen or fought a reptite before, I've partaken in several large scale battles. I'll help you with the strategy. How much time do we have to prepare?"

The Kullaka chief spoke grimly. "Reptites come fast. Tomorrow they arrive."


	12. Extinction

**Chapter ****12: Extinction**

Far across the snow covered plains a dark blotch could be seen. It had grown larger since the last time Flare had looked. He could smell the stench of the army in the soft wind that tussled his messy flame red hair. It was faint, but it was there. According to the position of the sun it was almost noon. According to Wroff the reptites would arrive in less than three more hours. Flare blinked in the wind.

"A boiling pot never kettles," Tai said.

Flare blinked again. "Wait. What?"

"A boiling pot never kettles," Tai repeated.

"You mean a watched kettle never boils?" Flare said to his friend with a smile. Tai flushed over his mistake. "It's okay," Flare said. "I'm nervous too."

"I feel like I shouldn't be," Tai admitted. "It's not like we've never seen any combat, but this time it's just really getting to me."

"Before we didn't have much time to think about it. We were always just thrust into the fighting. This time we can see it coming. We're being forced to dwell on it."

"Yeah, your right." Tai said. "Part of me can't stand to see them get closer. The other part wants them to already be here so we can just get it over with."

"Agreed." Flare said. Finally the young man tore his gaze away from the approaching army. "Let's get something to eat. We'll need our energy."

Tai smiled. "Agreed."

* * *

Aizyr led the charge through the snow. The reptite general set a grueling pace for his army. Many hundreds of his soldiers had already died from exhaustion. He sped up. More had died from the cold. Its freezing temperature had slaughtered his soldiers far faster than he had anticipated. The few that died from the running would be far less than how many would die from the cold if he dared to go any slower.

He cursed the humans. The dirty apes. They were inferior to the reptites in almost every way yet evolution had somehow granted them with warm blooded bodies. They could live on the frozen planet. The reptites, despite all their superiority, could not. The unfairness of it made Aizyr livid. He sped up again. The volcanoes were dying. Even the most liberal estimates had their heat used up entirely by the time the current hatchlings had reached the end of their life cycles.

Watching as his entire species slowly died was unbearable, but what was even worse was the knowledge that the damn hairless apes would not die off. That inferior species would inherit the planet and remain long after the reptites had been forgotten. Aizyr had finally convinced the masses that if they couldn't avoid extinction they should at least invite the humans along for the ride.

Every reptite in his army knew that they would die on this mission. They would die from the cold, or they would die from exhaustion, or they would die killing the humans, but they would die. Every last one of them. They had brought what heat they could. Carrying large stone containers full of lava and flame, but the flames were growing dim, and the heat was lessening every minute. There would be no return trip home.

Aizyr sped up.

* * *

"You no have to do this," Wroff said to Flare. "This our fight. You from future. This not your fight."

"I know," Flare said. He had considered evacuating with the elderly and the children. After all if he died in an avoidable fight there would be no one to save Gina, but he knew that they might require help from the cavemen in order to figure out where Xavius had gone. He could not expect these people to give him aid if he did not also aid them. Besides, he had a feeling that this army of reptites was positioned squarely between them and Xavius.

"You think Randall's plan work?" Wroff asked.

"It should," Flare said. The reptites were mere minutes away. Running in a head on charge. The human army stood still, conserving their energy for the fight.

Tai stood on the other side of the large Ioka Chief. "Well, we'll find out…right about…now."

* * *

Randall lay flat on his belly. He had been in the prone position for nearly two hours. His body was concealed by a large furry white cape. The massive reptite army began to pass in front of them. It was time. Randall leaped to his feet and drew his sword in a single fluid motion. Instantly hundreds of other figures burst out of the snow around him. The humans' war cry rang out as they charged into the flank of the reptite army.

* * *

Aizyr could see what passed as the human's army. The small force stood directly in front of them, less than three hundred meters away. The general hissed in fury. He could already taste their blood. The slaughter was at hand. The sound of battle erupted. For a moment Aizyr was confused. They hadn't yet reached their enemy. Then it dawned of him. They had been flanked.

From both sides humans leaped out of the snow and attacked. They had been lying in wait. Aizyr cursed as he felt his army's momentum falter under the surprise attack.

* * *

Randall's sword hit the reptite at the neck, cleanly severing the creature's head. Pressing the attack as much as he could he used the element of surprise to its fullest. All around him clubs and spears found their own marks. As soon as the reptites realized what was happening Randall pressed the fingers from his left hand to his lips and blew. His whistle signaled the retreat, and the humans fell back. On the other side of the army Wroff's sister, Rasha, whistled as Randall had instructed her.

The reptites broke ranks and pursued them. Leaving the warmth of the fire they had brought with them, just as Randall had expected. The reptites were exhausted from the run and sluggish from the cold, so the humans easily stayed out of their reach. When the reptites' ranks were spread out enough Randall whistled again. The humans reversed their run. Charging back into the reptites.

Randall's team slaughtered the fastest reptites before retreating once again. Randall smiled. His plan was working perfectly. The reptite army was now in chaos, completely spread out. His own team of over two hundred men and woman, warriors all, would continue to attack in this fashion. The same strategy was being implemented on the opposite side of the battlefield by Wroff's sister.

A conventional army might realize this and cease their charge, but the reptites would not. If they did fall back the humans could simply wait and let the cold finish them off. Still, the reptites had many times the numbers that the humans did. It would be a long battle.

As Randall once again signaled for an attack the main group of humans, lead by Wroff, attacked the main body of the army from the front. Randall hoped that Flare and Tai would make it out of the battle safe, but at that moment he had no time to spend thinking, so he pushed all distractions from his mind and again pressed his attack.

* * *

The reptite army had lost all momentum just as Randall had said it would. The waiting was now over, and a strange sense of relief flooded into Flare as he charged screaming into the green wall of lizard people. His mind and body were now flooded with adrenaline, fear and doubt banished from his thoughts.

The reptites' scales were as strong as light armor, but his katana easily cut through them. A cacophony of screams rose on the wind. War cries, howls of anger and fear, shrieks of pain both human and reptite. Soon the chaos of battle raged around Flare like an insane ocean storm.

Clubs split skulls. Claws tore throats. The melee was unlike anything Flare had experienced. It was a completely separate entity than one on one duels, or even battles against smaller numbers of enemies. So much was going on at once that it was mind numbing. The human force had now been swallowed in the tidal wave of reptites. The fighting was everywhere at once.

Soon Flare stopped thinking and just fought. Striking out at everything green. The reptites were already physically exhausted and drained by the cold, yet their hatred for the humans fueled their bodies. None of them expected to survive. Even if they won the battle they would still die. This made them extremely dangerous.

As _Crimson Eon _burst through another reptite's chest Flare saw death coming out of the corner of his eye. From his right side a reptite was charging. He turned as fast as he could but he didn't have time to defend. Before the beast reached him Tai flew out of nowhere and slammed into it at full speed. Tai's own katana running it through.

He'd thank his friend later, but now there was no time. The battle continued. If it was green Flare killed it.

* * *

Aizyr's clawed hand ripped through the human's stomach. The general shoved the dying man away and approached his next victim. The man struck him with a wooden club, but it bounced off the massive reptite's chest harmlessly. This time Aizyr went for the throat. The warm blood felt good on his cold reptilian skin. The fire pits were scattered throughout the battle field, but the reptite warrior had quickly discovered that if he killed enough men he could use their blood to temporarily stay warm. So he bathed in it.

As he set the corps down he watched as his friend Rikzen's skull exploded. A giant human stood before him. Aizyr's jagged teeth formed a terrible smile. The man was nearly as big as he was. In each of his hands he held giant wooden clubs. Twice the size of the clubs most of the other human's carried.

He locked eyes with the man. A reptite leaped at the man from his side. Without blinking the giant man's left arm shot out. The club sent the smaller reptite flying several feet before it landed in a twisted and broken heap. Aizyr snarled. The man was truly huge, but he was still a soft, weak, human. A human with warm blood to bathe in.

Aizyr rushed the man, but the man was fast despite his size. The human side stepped and struck him with one of his clubs. Unlike most humans this man was strong enough to hurt him, and instead of bouncing away harmlessly the club shattered his right arm. Aizyr lashed out with his remaining arm and raked his claws across the man's chest.

The human howled in pain and jumped back. Blood flowed freely from the three large cuts. Aizyr leaped forward and pressed his attack, but the man deflected his left arm with one club and sent the other club smashing down onto his head. Stars exploded in the reptite general's vision. He instinctively kicked out, and felt his foot connect with the man's body, knocking him back.

Aizyr shook his head and cleared his vision. Just in time to watch the man launch one of his clubs as a projectile. The great reptite took the blow squarely in the chest, and felt his ribs shatter. The force of the blow sent him crashing to the ground, flat on his back. Time seemed to slow down. Aizyr watched the battle for a moment. Then he saw a young human with bright red hair cut a reptite cleanly in half.

The general remembered a time when he was just a hatchling. A time when a young human with red hair had helped kill the great Azala. As the human cut down another reptite Aizyr laughed at fate. Surely fate hated the reptites. Surely the planet hated them. The humans would win this battle. They would survive. They would thrive. Aizyr had failed, just as Azala had failed, just as all the reptites had failed.

Aizyr watched as the giant man walked over to him and lifted his club high into the air. He watched as the crude weapon dropped, shattering his skull instantly. Fate had dealt the reptites extinction, yet for the time being the humans would be spared.


	13. Aftermath

**Chapter 13: Aftermath**

The storm had passed, just as all storms do, and like any other storm debris was left in its wake. The first day after the battle was spent taking care of the wounded. Those in the best shape tended non stop to the most serious of the injured, while everyone with minor injuries helped when they could, but were allowed to rest as well.

The second day everyone who could help returned to the battle field to tend to the dead. In Flare's opinion that task was even worse than the battle itself or even the wait prior to the battle. While in the heat of combat the gore seemed of little concern, but seeing the grisly bodies without the buffer of adrenaline was more than unsettling.

Approximately half of the human army had been killed during the battle, and even more had died in the hours that followed. Flare learned from the cavemen that many years ago when the weather had been warm the dead were buried, but the new frozen climate made digging an undesirable chore. Thus the human tribes had become accustomed to burning the dead.

Though Ayla had wanted to stay and fight Wroff had forced both of his parents to evacuate, and put them in charge of leading the evacuation party. By the end of the second day Ayla and Kino had returned with the evacuated elderly and children. That evening the funeral pyres were lit. They burned through the night.

* * *

Flare woke early. His body still ached from the exertion of the battle, but he had come out of the fight relatively unscathed. Both he and Tai sported only minor cuts and bruises. Randall didn't seem to even have those, but Wroff had managed to obtain a very nasty claw wound to the chest. The tribe healers used a sweet smelling mixture of herbs to stop the bleeding, but it would leave a scar that would have made Refla proud.

Flare grabbed a bowl of soup that had been prepared the night before. After seeing nothing but death for a whole day he hadn't had much of an appetite for dinner, but it had apparently returned, so he made short work of the soup.

"You strong fighter."

Flare looked up to see Ayla standing in the doorway. "Oh, uh thanks," Flare stammered, caught off guard by the unexpected complement.

Ayla sat down and dipped a large bowl of the soup for herself, after casually draining its contents in a single gulp she fixed her gaze on the slightly confused Flare. Then the cavewoman broke into a large grin. "You remind me of him. Strong too."

"Remind you of who?" Flare asked, dipping himself another bowl.

"A friend," Ayla answered simply. "Strong friend. Like you he once helped Ioka fight reptites. Long time ago, before long cold." She cocked her head to the side as she considered Flare for a moment. "Maybe Flare's father?"

"Dunno," Flare said with a shrug. "I'm an orphan. I don't remember either of my parents."

With another shrug Ayla said, "Oh well. You good person, strong person." Then with a crooked grin she continued. "Ayla strong too. Wanted to fight reptites with Ioka one last time. Wroff said too dangerous." With a frown she finished, "Said Ayla too old."

Though she was in fact fairly old, Flare had the suspicious idea that she would have been able to hold her own in the battle. But he could understand Wroff not wanting his aging mother to be involved. With another casual shrug her smile returned. "Maybe Ayla _is_ old."

Suddenly Ayla's face turned serious. "Wroff and Ayla ask people if they see wizard."

He sat up straighter. After the battle Wroff had asked him why they had come from the future and Flare told him the entire story. Afterwards Wroff had promised to ask around and see if anyone had seen Xavius's group.

"Some people say they saw strange man in black clothes go east. Three people with strange man. Two with white hair."

Flare clenched his fist and savored the small victory. The lost trail had been found again.

"Bad wizards dangerous. But sometimes bad wizards become good wizards," Ayla said.

Flare shook his head. "No. This wizard, Xavius, he has no intention of becoming good." Although Flare did have to admit that such a change of character in Xavius would make things much easier.

Ayla nodded in understanding. "Be careful then. Bad wizards dangerous."

"Yeah, I know," Flare said softly. He knew only too well how dangerous Xavius really was. "But I have to save Gina."

"Gina is Flare's woman? Yes?"

"Uh…sort of, I guess," Flare stammered in embarrassment.

"Too bad," Ayla said letting out an over exaggerated sigh. "Rasha like Flare. Say she need strong man, because she strong woman."

"So he's going east is he? Isn't that where the reptites came from?" Flare asked trying to change the subject as he flushed the color of his own hair.

Ayla chuckled in a motherly fashion before saying, "Yes. Strange man probably go east to volcanoes. Volcanoes only thing east, so Wroff go with you."

"What?" Flare asked in surprise. "But doesn't the Ioka need him right now? He's the chief. He can't just leave."

Ayla waved her hand as if to say Flare's words were nonsense. "Ioka be okay without Chief for little time. Ioka okay when Ayla go to future long time ago. Wroff should go with Flare. Flare need someone who knows volcano land."

"But what if the reptites come back? What if they send another army?" Flare asked in concern.

Ayla's smile turned deadly cold. "Reptites no come again. Reptites dead. Can no survive cold is what Azala say long ago. All reptites who want humans dead came with army. Reptite army win, or reptite army lose, no more will come."

* * *

The spring was naturally heated by the volcanic activity that surrounded the area. Riiza hadn't had such a pleasant bath in for as long as she could remember. Now that she had her health back the long journey didn't bother her. Actually she was quite enjoying the feeling of being legitimately tired without feeling ill, but it was still nice to relax and rest every now and then.

Xavius had been working on creating the next Gate for close to three full days and had said that it would be finished soon. As far as she was concerned he could take his time. Who knew the next time she'd get to bathe in a natural hot spring?

"Too bad you can't enjoy this too," Riiza said to Gina. The poor girl had been allowed to bathe in the hot springs with Riiza, but she had not been allowed out of her trance. Riiza's feelings for the girl could be described as a mix of both pity and envy. Having your free will intact was mostly a good thing, but at least Gina was free of the fear that plagued Riiza.

Ever since the journey had begun she trusted the sorcerer less and less each passing day. That and his power was seemingly immense. While her brother would never openly admit it she could tell that he had begun fearing Xavius as well. That more than anything scared her.

She had watched him kill half a dozen reptites in the blink of an eye. One moment they were surrounded by several of the vicious lizard creatures, then there was a blinding flash of lighting, and the reptites were dead. The elite guard of the reptite elder killed in an instant.

Xavius had used an illusion that made the four of them appear as reptites in order to gain an audience with Yazla, the reptite elder and patriarch. Once the audience was gained the sorcerer had dropped the illusion and wiped out Yazla's guard.

"Tell me of your dreams," he had commanded the reptite.

Without warning a jagged boulder had soared through the air toward Xavius. The rock stopped within inches of the sorcerer, and Riiza was quite sure that he was briefly locked in a battle of wills against Yazla. The battle was over quickly and the rock was sent flying toward the reptite elder. Then it exploded. Not into smaller pieces, but into nothing but dust.

As Yazla went into a fit of coughing Xavius repeated, "Tell me of your dreams."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the reptite had hissed.

Xavius's lip curled into a mocking grin. "Sure you do. The dreams about the future. The human future. That amazing brain of yours is good for more than tossing stones. In fact it operates on a wave length close enough to magic that it can pick up 'signals'. A very clever wizard has sent some important knowledge specifically to you. Very, very clever indeed."

"I'd die rather than help a monkey like you," Yazla spat.

Xavius laughed at that. It had made Riiza shiver. "I'm sure you would," Xavius chided. "However, I'm not giving you a choice."

All it took was a flick of his hand to slam the reptite elder into the wall. Struggling did Yazla little good against Xavius magic. With a casual air that bordered on giddiness Xavius approached him and placed a hand on the reptites head. After a long pause the sorcerer smiled. He was pleased.

"There she is…1984...Truce Dome…"

"There she is?" repeated Riiza's brother. "So you need another girl."

Xavius removed his hand from Yazla's head, and the reptite slumped to the ground unconscious. "Oh, yes. Two more in fact."

Riiza let herself sink lower into the hot water, despite the heat she felt cold as she remembered the scene. She looked over to Gina, who still wore nothing but a blank stare. "I guess we'll have company soon."

* * *

The frequent snows of the western plains had hidden any visible trail that Xavius might have left, but it wasn't long after reaching the volcanic valley that Randall found footprints on the dusty stone ground. While faint, for Randall's skill in tracking they were plenty good enough.

The landscape gave Flare and odd unwelcoming feeling. The entire area seemed alien in the frigid ice age that had encompassed the rest of the planet. It was a land that was desperately attempting to defy fate, and it was losing.

"Do you think we'll run into any reptites?" Tai asked, examining the barren landscape. As far as he could tell there hadn't been any signs of life.

Wroff shook his head. "This place colder now. When Wroff come before, volcanoes make even more heat. Reptites used to live outside of volcano caves, but now…" The big man trailed off as he waved an open hand at the empty expanse in front of them.

Flare understood his point clearly. Even though this area was much warmer than the snowy lands to the west, it could hardly be considered hot. Though there was the occasional stream of fresh lava, most appeared to have cooled and turned to stone.

"Why did you come here before?" Flare asked curiously.

"Before great reptite army attack we no see reptites in many years. Wroff not even see before. Some younger villagers say they no believe Mother that the Ioka once fought reptites. Say that she make up stories of being strong. Say all the elders make up stories. Wroff believed Mother and other elders and know them strong."

Wroff broke into a grin as he gave a big shrug. "So Wroff show everyone reptites real."

Tai gave him an incredulous look. "You mean you came here by yourself, so you could kill a reptite and bring it back?"

"Yes," Wroff said still sporting his boyish grin.

Late the next day they came upon a cliff overlooking a large valley. The valley might have been unremarkable except for the large lakes of lava contained within. "I guess it's still warm enough down there for the reptites," Tai observed.

"When Wroff came before reptites lived further out." The caveman frowned down into the valley. The memories of his recently dead friends brought fresh by the sight of living reptites.

"Soon those lakes will be cooled, and they won't be able to live outside at all. Then the insides of the volcanoes will die too…" Flare didn't like the reptites anymore than Wroff, but the thought of an entire species slowly dying off was still unpleasant.

"The trail leads into the valley," Randall said after careful examination. "But it-"

"Great," Tai interrupted. "I was really hoping for a chance to go down into reptiteville."

"As I was saying," Randall went on after silencing Tai with a sharp look. "But it doubles back. They went down into the valley, for what reason I don't know, and they returned to this point."

"Huh," Flare wondered. "Why'd they come back here?"

"I'd guess it was to make that," Randall said pointing to a small sphere of faint blue light. "I'm right in my assumption that this is an unopened Gate?"

"What is Gate? Wroff see nothing." The caveman said in bewilderment.

"That's because you've never seen an activated Gate," Flare explained as he pulled the blue stone necklace over his head. "I can open it with this…"

As soon as Flare approached the tiny sphere it reacted to the stone, roaring to life. Wroff stared in wide eyed amazement at the spectacle. "This Gate to future."

Even though it wasn't stated as a question Flare answered, "Yes, but where in the future…I don't know."

"It could take us farther back to the past." Tai said.

"True," Flare conceded. "There's only one way to find out."


	14. The End of Time

**Chapter 14: The End of Time**

For the third time in his life Flare was being sucked through a rip in the fabric of time. At first the experience was much the same as the first two times, but the longer it went on the more apparent it became that something was different. The swirling tunnel of light felt tighter and more cramped than before, and the acceleration was wrong.

Before the acceleration was frantic, but it somehow felt controlled. This time it felt completely random. An unpredictable cycle of speeding and slowing that was lasting for far too long. A panicky thought struck Flare. What if Xavius had tampered with the Gate? Could he do that?

The next thing Flare knew he was dizzily stumbling across a cobblestone floor and catching himself by grabbing onto a metal fence. As soon as the shock of being on solid ground wore off, he realized that the fence had kept him from falling into a misty nothingness. As far as the eye could see, stretched an endless mist on a black plane. They had appeared inside of a small square cobblestone room incased by a tall bronze colored fence. On one side a small set of steps led down into another cobblestone area that had what appeared to be a lamppost standing in the middle of it.

The area they had been dropped into flickered faintly from several cylinders of blue light that were scattered along the floor. "This future?" Wroff asked, wide eyed as he took in the surroundings.

Flare was caught somewhere between a head shake and a shrug. Tai just stared off speechlessly into the endless expanse. Randall cautiously gripped the hilt of his sword as he examined the area. "Maybe that fellow could be of assistance to us."

Flare followed his gaze down into the lower room to the lone lamppost. Sure enough a man dressed in a long brown trench coat with a matching brown bowler hat was leaning against it. "Yeah, sounds like a good plan to me," Flare said.

When they had gotten closer they realized that even though the man was standing he was in a deep sleep. "Um, excuse me, sir," Flare said, feeling slightly awkward. "Could you, uh, wake up?"

To everyone's surprise the man's snoring cut out almost instantly. For a moment he stood blinking sleepily at them from behind a large bushy gray moustache. Then he suddenly seemed fully alert and said, "Oh, gracious me, visitors."

Flare smiled at the man, he seemed of a goodly nature and somehow didn't feel threatening. "I was wondering if you could tell us where we are?"

"Oh, yes. Of course you were." The man straightened his bowler hat then returned his hand to the simple cane it had been on. "You're at the place of least resistance in the time space continuum. That is to say, the End of Time."

Not at all understanding the answer Tai posed the next question. "You haven't seen anyone pass through here have you? A man with shining black hair, dressed all in black, another man with white hair, and two girls."

The man arched his eyebrows slightly. "Shining black hair you say? Well, that is curious isn't it?"

Flare nodded in agreement. "Have you seen them? Any of them?"

The man considered for a moment before reaching into one of his coat pockets and producing a long pipe. Out of another pocket he produced a thin wooden match, which he carefully and deliberately struck against the lamp post. He looked lost in thought as he took a couple of slow puffs. "No."

Flare frowned. "Then they have must have come by while you were sleeping."

"I don't believe so," the man said taking another puff.

"But this is where the Gate took us," Tai said. "They had to have come this way."

Randall pointed to the floor. "I think he speaks the truth. The ground is covered in a layer of dust, but we're the only ones who left any tracks. Not even this old man has left any tracks."

The man grunted at being called old, but otherwise said nothing. "Wait a minute. How's that even possible," inquired Tai. "Don't you ever walk around?"

"Not really," the man said. "Mostly I just observe."

"What do you observe?" Flare looked around at the mostly empty darkness. "There's nothing here."

The man chuckled to himself. "Nothing? Oh, not quite. See…this is the End of Time like I told you before. From here the trained eye can see anything at anytime."

"Hold on," Flare said bringing his hand to his chin. "That means you can see where Xavius took Gina!"

"Maybe, but time is a very vast thing. Locating a specific person is not that easy, but the Gate you came here in should take you to the time this Xavius has gone to."

"But how? That Gate brought us here!" Flare exclaimed in exasperation.

"Ah, but only because four of you came through. Gates can only hold three entities at once. If more than three beings from differing time periods attempt to use the same Gate at the same time then you are sent to the place of least resistance." He tapped his cane on the stone floor. "Here."

"And the Gate?" Asked Flare anxiously.

"I'm sure you saw them." He said with another puff. "Up there." He pointed to the place they had appeared. "All the Gates you've been through are collected for you. Quite fascinating isn't it?"

Suddenly Wroff burst into laughter and pointed at the man. "Gasper!"

The man looked genuinely surprised. "You know my name? That too is fascinating."

"Mother told Wroff all about strange place called End of Time," Wroff boasted. "Took Wroff a while to remember your name though."

Gasper smiled. "Indeed, but before you take off after this Xavius of yours there's someone I'd like you to meet." He stuck a thumb over his shoulder and pointed it at a door behind him. "Go along now. It's quite important, and not at all dangerous, so don't be afraid."

Flare still wasn't quite sure what to make of the old man who said he never moved from the lamppost, but as odd as the fellow might be he didn't seem dangerous. From their vantage point it looked like there would be nothing but more dark nothing behind the door, but to the group's mutual surprise it opened into a square room with high stone walls.

Besides the fact that it seemed physically impossible for the room to exist within that space, it was quite unremarkable. Except for the large yellow reptite that stood in the center of it. For a moment the four stood in stunned silence. The reptite smiled in an almost mischievous fashion, possibly being the most out of place thing Flare had ever laid eyes on. Before Flare's mind could conjure up an action, he was knocked over sideways by Wroff as he charged roaring at the top of his lungs. The yellow reptite smiled happily at the mountain of muscle, and then it pointed a single finger at him.

An instant before Wroff could make contact a loud bang erupted within the stone room, and a bright flash of light left the trio of onlookers blinking in confusion. Blinking away the sun spots Flare was stunned to see Wroff lying of the stone ground groaning loudly. Tai stared at the reptite with mix of confusion and fear. "What did you do?"

"Hit him with a bolt of lighting," the reptite cheerfully answered in a very un-reptite like voice.

"What?" said Tai.

"How?" Flare asked simultaneously. Both drawing their swords without further ado.

"With magic of course!" the reptite said with a wave its clawed hand. "How else would you hit someone with lighting?"

"That was magic," stated Randall, drawing his sword. "Then you're the same as the sorcerer Xavius."

"Same as a sorcerer? I'll have you know that I'm the great Spekkio! The God of War," boasted the reptite-thing. "And those swords you carry will be just as effective against me as that guy was." Spekkio pointed to Wroff who was just regaining his feet. "Nope, to stand a chance against someone like me you'll need magic. Same goes if you plan on taking on a sorcerer. Magical mayhem! The one sure path to victory!"

Flare put his sword away. Not only would it be fairly useless, he suddenly felt like they weren't about to fight to the death. "But we can't use magic. We're not wizards, just ordinary humans."

"Of course you can't," Spekkio returned. "If you could then good ol' Gasper wouldn't have sent you to me. As for being ordinary humans, well what do you think wizards are?"

"What are you?" Wroff demanded, rubbing his head. "Reptites no use magic. Look like reptite, but not sound like, or act like."

Spekkio shook his lizard like head with exaggerated disbelief. "Told ya I'm the God of War… as for what I _look_ like. That depends solely on you. If you're strong, then I look strong."

Flare puzzled out what he was hearing. "So, what you're saying is that you can teach us magic."

"Ehhhh…not quite. But close! What I can do is release your innate powers. At first you'll only be able to use basic elemental magic. Learning complex spells and whatnot you need to do yourself."

Flare and Tai shared a brief stare. A stare full of both relief and excitement. "If you release our powers then we can use magic…like that lightning bolt," Tai said.

"And with it we can fight a sorcerer like Xavius on even terms!" Flare finished, smiling.

Spekkio scratched his yellow scale covered head. "Yeah, I don't really know about the 'on even terms' part, but at the very least you'd stand a fighting chance. So, what do the three of you say? You game?"

"Of course we are!" Tai shouted.

"What game?" Randall asked, bewildered.

"Three? There's four of us." Flare said with a frown.

"Good. Figure of speech. And the caveman can't use magic," Spekkio answered, pointing at each of them in turn. "He was born before magic existed, sorry, there's nothing' I can do about it. But hey, every teams gotta have its muscle right?"

Wroff grinned. "Wroff no need magic. Wroff strong."

"That's the spirit!" Spekkio exclaimed giving the caveman a thumbs up before turning his attention back to the other three. "First I'll give you a quick Magic 101 class. The world is made up of four elements. These are Fire, Water, Shadow, and Light. Everybody corresponds to a different one." Spekkio pointed at Flare. "As much as it pains me to make such an obvious statement: you're Fire. And you there, sidekick, you're Water."

Tai frowned. "I'm not his sidekick!" he said indignantly.

Ignoring Tai Spekkio continued. "And our hansom knight in slightly dinged up, but still kinda shiny armor, you my friend are Light." Upon finishing Spekkio clapped his hands twice, and then pointed at the wall. "Start by the door and walk around the room three times, counter-clockwise, following the wall."

"I…uh…sure." Flare stammered. The hope of attaining a way to fight back against Xavius was plenty of motivation to do what he was told. Even if it meant following nonsense orders from a banana colored lizard man.

"One. Two. Three." Spekkio counted each pass they made. "Okay, now the three of you can use magic…right…about…now."

The instant Spekkio said "now" something lit up inside Flare. It felt like a doorway inside of him that had been locked shut his entire life had suddenly burst open. Waves of intense heat could be felt flowing from within this inner doorway. A quick look at Tai and Randall told him that they were both having a very similar experience. Upon further investigation of the inner door, Flare realized that he could both open and close it at will, but when it was open…he could not only feel the heat but could pull the heat out. Out of the inner doorway, out of his body, and into the world. A small ball of flame rested in the palm of his hand. With a thought he caused it to instantly triple in both size and heat. A second mental command and it winked out of existence.

"Flare…this is awesome," Tai said as crystals of ice magically appeared around his outstretched hand. Flare could only nod. He was at a loss for words. He could feel how much power was inside of him. Power he hadn't even known about. The power to save Gina.

"Like I said earlier," Spekkio spoke up, sounding rather proud. "Without any real knowledge of spell casting you can only use basic elemental magic. You can't do too many complex things with it, but it makes a wonderful weapon."

"Oh, yes," Randall said in agreement as small electrical currents danced around his body. "I can tell it will make a most excellent weapon…"

Spekkio cracked his knuckles like a man before a fist fight. "Now that you have magic…how about you try and take me on?"

Fighting a pointless battle was the last thing on Flare's mind. There was a real battle to be fought, and now for the first time sense the journey began he felt like they had a real chance of winning. "Sorry Spekkio, but we're in a hurry."

The self proclaimed God of War heaved a sigh. "Oh well, if you ever want to fight, comeback anytime. I'm sure it would make for good training."

"Yeah," Flare said without paying much attention as he opened the door and began exiting. "We'll be sure to do that."

The four walked in silence to the cylinders that represented the time gates. Instinctively they found the one that would take them to the future. The one that would take Flare to Gina, and Randall to Kyui-Wara.

"Before you go," called Gasper from where he still stood at the lamp post. "Heed my warning. Use absolute caution when dealing with the one you seek. And when you do confront him, above all else, do not hold back. The powers you've gained here are formidable, but Xavius has mastered the use of his. His magic is strong, and it is evil."

"It sounds like you know him," Flare called back.

Gasper took a long slow draw from his pipe. "Just be careful. That is all."

When it was apparent that he would offer nothing further they returned their attention to the Gate. "We can't all four go through it," Tai said. "Otherwise we'd just end back up here."

Wroff frowned. "One of us needs to stay here?"

Flare shook his head. "No, I'll open the Gate and give Tai the Gate stone. Then you and I, Wroff, will go through together. Wait a couple of minutes, Tai, and then you come through with Randall."

They nodded in understanding, and Flare opened the Gate, tossed Tai the Gate stone, and jump in followed by Wroff. A moment later the Gate closed back up. After counting to a hundred in his head Tai reopened the Gate. "What do you think we'll find in the future," he asked.

"A vengeance fulfilled," Randall said and stepped into the Gate.

_Author's Note: In the original Japanese version of Chrono Trigger there was an element named Heaven, but when the American version was released it got changed to Lightning. I was conflicted on what name to use in Chrono Gaiden, and for a while I used Lightning, but the recent remake of CT for the Nintendo DS has officially changed the element's name to Light. And thus that is what it shall be from this point on. _

_Fire, Water, Shadow, and Light._


	15. The Twin

**Chapter 15: The Twin**

The wide eyed look of bewilderment on Wroff's face was both comical and alarming at the same time. Seeing a man that big look so shocked made Flare more than a little nervous, but in the caveman's defense, Flare was every bit as shocked.

"Flare, why are all the buildings taller than the royal castle?" Tai asked gazing up at the glass and steel monsters that surrounded the group.

In all of their lives the tallest building either of the two young men had seen was Guardia Castle. To them that castle, seen even at a distance, was larger than life. Every building they could now see, made the castle look like nothing more than an elegant stump, and they could see a lot of buildings. The looming giants sprang up like blades of grass as far as they could see, and likely well beyond what they could see. Flare knew that Randall's past experience must have been the same, and as for Wroff…he'd only ever seen tents and huts.

"This future must be beyond your own future," Randall said to Flare as he gazed up with the rest of them. "The two of you don't seem to be any more prepared for this than I."

"Yeah, this is the future all right," Tai answered. "What year do you think it is?"

"I suppose we could ask someone, but they might find it a little suspicious," Flare said.

"We already look suspicious," Randall said. "Did you notice the clothing worn in this time? Our attire and the fact we openly carry weapons is making us stand out."

Flare realized that he hadn't noticed this at all. The group had exited the Gate in an alleyway, and the first thing he had noticed upon walking into the open was the ludicrous size of the buildings. Flare's senses sprang to life as he forced his attention to the rest of their surroundings. The sound of the city was similar to having your head stuck in a bee hive. People everywhere spoke, people in numbers Flare had never imagined. Shiny metal vehicles sped down the center road at incredible speeds, spewing out noise of their own unique brand.

Randall was right about the clothes these people wore. There wasn't any singular style, but a large collection of newness. All the strange future styles seemed to meld together in a familiar way. While the clothing Flare and the others wore clashed like an accidental note in a song. And the loudest clashing note was Wroff, unlike Flare, Tai, and Randall, Wroff only had on animal furs. Adding that to his outrages height and size made him look insanely alien next to everyone else. Flare wasn't the only to notice either, nearly everyone who passed by gave the cave man looks of amazement, much in the same way as Wroff himself was staring at the buildings.

"You're right. The only thing we could do to look any stranger is if we began using magic here in the street. Asking about the year shouldn't make us any more noticeable than we already are." Flare turned to the next person who walked by and asked as casually as he could, "What's the year?"

A young man paused and turned to Flare, his friend stopping as well, the two taking in the appearance of the odd, building-staring group. "Um…1984 last I checked." The first man sized up the group. "So, you guys in town for a game convention or a comic convention?"

"What? Oh, um…game," Flare said, caught off guard by the question. He wasn't quite sure what a 'comic' was, but even in the past they had games. He just hoped the man didn't want to discuss any future games that Flare knew nothing of.

"That's cool," the second man said. "We went to Mystic-Con last summer over in Medina Dome, pretty cool."

"Right," Flare said absently, trying to keep himself from staring at the first man's hair. It was done up in wild spikes unlike anything Flare had seen. It was definitely an unusual hairstyle, but something about it appealed to him. He suddenly became quite aware of his unkempt red hair that he could never figure out what to do with.

"So you guys ever play Mecha Mage?" asked the second man.

"No," Flare answered honestly.

"Yeah, well I know it's new and the monthly fee kinda sucks. But if you ever get it, look us up. I play under the name Lurch." He jerked his thumb at the first man. "And he's Beaker."

"Yeah, will do," Flare said, wondering what on earth 'Mecha Mage' was as Lurch and Beaker walked off. A sudden realization hit him. "Hey guys, how are we supposed to track Xavius in this city?"

Randall frowned. "It won't be easy, but I think I can do it, but first we need a place to start."

Tai looked over at them. "We could always ask somebody where the Town Guard is. I know going to them like it's a normal missing persons case isn't the greatest plan, but maybe Xavius is going to kidnap someone else. If he does the Town Guard might know of who's missing, and viola! A possible lead."

Randall nodded slightly as he considered Tai's words. "In a city this size I'd estimate that there'll be many unrelated missing people, but I don't have any better ideas."

Tai turned to a passing woman. "Excuse me, ma'am. Could you possibly point us in the direction of the Town Guard?"

The woman gaped at the group as though they were something diseased and infectious. "Save your weirdo talk for the Renaissance Fair, and call it a police station like normal people."

"Um, yes ma'am," Tai said, taken aback.

"If you're walking and I suppose you are, head down the sidewalk until you reach Nadia Street. Turn right, it'll be there." She turned and left, much to Tai's satisfaction.

"I guess it's as good a start as any." Flare reached up to tap Wroff on his shoulder. The caveman nodded and followed the group.

* * *

"I'm telling the truth!" The girl insisted, now fully in tears. "Why would I make this up? Why?"

The cop sighed as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He truly did love his job, most of the time at least. Helping people was what he liked best, but nutters like the girl in front of him, made what he usually enjoyed doing a full on nightmare. "Miss, do you really expect anyone to believe that somebody broke into your home and kidnapped your sister using magic? Keyword being magic, most historians now agree that magic never existed in the first place. Why would you make the story up? Beats me, but it's obvious to everyone here that you are."

"No I'm not! I can't explain what he did, but he did it. He walked into our apartment, put some kind of spell over my sister, and then he disappeared with her! They just vanished like he'd gone invisible or something!"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. People don't just go invisible or vanish. My guess is either your sister and a friend are having some fun at your expense, or more likely, you're on drugs and are in the middle of a very bad trip." He was now very aware of every eye in the station watching them, and on top of that another group of weirdoes had just entered. "Miss, we have real work to do, and real crimes to solve. If you don't leave right now I'm going to have to arrest you and do a drug test."

Her blue eyes were now swollen red with tears. She opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't force anything out. To his relief she turned and fled. Having to drug test her would only have led to extra paperwork. Hopefully her family would notice the problem and get her into a rehab.

* * *

At that moment Paige was furious at both herself and the cop. As angry as she was at the cop who refused to help, a small part of her mind realized that she had messed up big time. She never should have mentioned magic, or given the details of how weird the event had been. She knew it sounded crazy, and it was only logical that the police didn't believe her. In her panic though, she had rushed straight here to get help.

Now the police would never believe her. Even if she returned with a believable story they'd surely recognize her. What would she tell her parents? They were currently out of town, but they'd be back soon, and it wasn't like she could not tell them until they returned. When she did tell them they'd ask if she told the cops, what then? Tell them exactly what she had told the cops? So they could think she was crazy and on drugs too?

Her vision fogged over with tears as she ran into a red haired man as she left the building. Without stopping to apologize she stumbled down the street, her mind reeling in panic. She collapsed into a nearby ally and sat propped against the stone wall. With shaky hands she dug through her purse until her fingers found the pack of hidden cigarettes. Drugs she was innocent of, but that wasn't to say she was void of bad habits. If the cops had searched her for drugs they would have found the cigarettes she, as a seventeen year old, wasn't supposed to have.

Her fingers fumbled clumsily with the lighter until she finally got the small white stick lit. She sucked in the merciful smoke, trying to force her mind to calm down. Panic never solved anything.

As she exhaled she saw the group of four men standing in front of her. Two of them didn't look much older than herself, but the other two while not old, had long since abandoned their teenage years, and one of them was positively gigantic. One of the young men had fiery red hair. She remembered nearly bowling him over as she ran from the police station.

"I'm sorry," she said in a squeaky voice. "I-I didn't mean to bump into you back there." Paige's eyes went to their swords. Swords! Both young men wore long skinny swords, like the kind she'd only ever seen in movies. The older man had his own broad sword, along with what looked like an old battle axe. The giant didn't need to be carrying any blades to look threatening, but dressed as he was in only animal fur with two large wooden clubs strapped around his waist by a thick leather strap, the man looked as bizarre as he did scary.

"I believe you," the red haired man said.

"You, you do?" she asked. Paige didn't know what she had expected the man to say, but it hadn't been that.

"Yes, about the sorcerer."

She started to glare at him, thinking it a cruel joke to play on her, but he suddenly looked into her eyes with the most disarmingly empathetic look she'd ever received.

"The one dressed all in black, right? With strange glassy hair and eyes, pale skin, about my height." He read the recognition in her face. "His name is Xavius, and he took someone precious from me too."

"But," she started, impossibly it seemed that she had found some help, "what can we do? You said he was a s-sorcerer, and I've seen him use magic myself. If h-he really is a sorcerer…what can we do?"

The two young men glanced at each other, slight smiles escaping their lips. "Well, we're not completely helpless anymore. We can use magic ourselves now." The red head snapped his fingers, a small flame flickering to life above his thumb. The other young man pointed to a mud puddle a short distance away. Instantly, it froze over.

"So…you're all wizards or something?" she asked.

"Actually, um…no not really," the red head said, apparently caught off guard by the question.

"Kinda though," his friend countered. "I guess we are in a way?"

"I'm…not sure," the taller man said. "I haven't given the technicality of it much thought."

"Wroff no wizard," boomed the voice of the gigantic man.

"He's right," said the young man with short brown hair. "Wroff can't use any magic. 'Cause he's a caveman."

"Oh." Was all that came to Paige's mind to say. At least one thing about the strange group was clear. The caveman was not a wizard.

_Author's Note: In earlier versions of this fic I had given Paige a last name. I'm not sure why I did, but I did all the same. Thing is, in the canon story of Chrono Trigger only Lucca is ever given a proper surname (not counting royalty). Because of this none of my OCs in Chrono Gaiden were given last names either. To top this off, Paige's last name was oddly similar to Lucca's. This was pure coincidence and not some hint at a larger connection. For these reasons I have decided to make Paige a single name character like all the rest, less confusion that way. If this is your first read through, then go ahead and ignore this. Okay, that is all, enjoy the rest of Chrono Gaiden!_


	16. The Royal Crown

**Chapter 16: The Royal Crown**

"That's my sister. My twin, Penny," Paige said pointing at the photograph on the wall. Both girls were as identical as twins came, the only differentiating factor being Penny's long blonde hair, as apposed to Paige's shorter hair that stopped just above her ears.

Randall studied the picture for a few more moments before returning his attention to the rest of the apartment's living room. "And this is where it happened?"

"Yes," she said. "I know we locked the door, but he opened it like we hadn't. Then he told my sister to come with him, and, well, it's hard to explain. Her eyes sort of, I can't really describe it. Went dull? And she stood up and went to him.

"Then he told me to tell her goodbye, because I'd never see her again. I was scared, and I didn't know what was going on, but I threw the TV remote at him. I know it sounds stupid, but it was all I could think of doing. It never hit him though; instead it just bounced away like it hit a wall. Then he just laughed, and they disappeared. The door closed, so I don't think they really disappeared, I think they turned invisible. Sounds crazy, right?"

Flare shook his head. "Not at all. In fact the description fits perfectly, but he didn't have anyone with him?"

"No," she said, "at least not that I saw, but if he could turn himself and my sister invisible, the other people you say are with him might have been invisible."

"Maybe," Flare agreed before turning to Tai. "Good thing you thought of checking out the Town Gu-err, I mean police station. Looks like you found us a lead after all."

"Yes," Paige said as she smiled at Flare's friend, "and without any of you I doubt I'd ever have a chance of seeing my sister again."

Tai ran his fingers through his hair as his cheeks started to flush. "Yeah, I guess it was pretty lucky."

"Luck," said Randall, "or maybe fate. It's getting harder for me to tell the two apart."

"Randall, you really think you can track them?" Flare asked.

"Yes, I do. Think of it like following foot prints, only this time I'll not be following tracks of the physical nature. These will be magical foot prints if you will." Randall continued to survey the room. "After Spekkio gave us our magic, I've been able to feel you and Tai. Maybe it's my experience as a tracker that lets me notice the details better, but I'm almost certain I can follow Xavius's magic trail."

"Great, we don't have a moment to lose." Flare's eyes flicked to the door, impatience apparent on his face.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Randall said looking over to Flare. "I know I can do this, but to do it right in these unfamiliar surroundings will take time. We don't know how far they have traveled since kidnapping miss Ashcroft's sister. My guess is that it will take me at least a few days. It will also be faster if I do this alone."

Flare frowned. "And we should do what until then? Stay here and wait patiently?"

Randall shrugged. "If you come with me your magic will confuse my senses. I'm sorry but this is the only way I can think of to find them."

"You're right," said Flare apologetically, "but promise me that when you find them you won't do anything stupid. Come and get us before trying to attack Kyui Wara."

"I promise." Randall turned to Paige. "I think I should go now, but first, is there anything I should know about the city? Anything that might aid me, or keep me from unnecessary trouble?"

"First, you need different clothes. Second, I wouldn't take your sword; you shouldn't need it anyway if all you'll be doing is looking for them. I think some of my dad's clothes should fit you, you're about the same size, and I'll give you Penny's cell phone. With it you can just call if you need help or you find them."

"What is a 'sell fone'?" Randall asked as he nodded at her suggestions.

Paige picked a small pink object off of a short table that sat between several cushiony chairs and a large rectangular object with a dark glassy surface. "This is a cell," she said showing Randall. "To call me all you have to do is press one, Penny has me on autodial, and you'll be able to talk to me on my cell."

Randall gingerly took the phone from her hands and pressed the button marked with a 1. Instantly the voice of a man singing erupted from Paige's pants causing the group of time travelers to jump in surprise. "See, that's how I know that you're calling." Penny pulled her own phone out of her pocket.

"And we can talk to each other on these…from anywhere in the city?" Randall asked.

Paige hit a button on her phone that ended the singing man's voice. "Anywhere in the country actually."

"Amazing," Randall said as he examined the phone from various angles.

"If someone calls you, don't answer unless it's me."

"How will I know?"

"Easy. See the screen? If I call you it'll read Paige. If someone calls and it says anything but Paige don't answer, but if it says Paige then hit that green button that says talk. I probably won't be calling, but just to be safe you know? Wait, you _can_ read can't you?"

Randall nodded. "Yes, I can read."

"Good, here come with me to my parents room and I'll get you some clothes," she said leading him down a hall. A moment later she returned. "Oh, that's the fridge," she said to Wroff who had wondered into the kitchen and was eyeing a large metallic box that was almost as tall as he was. "We keep food in it. Go ahead and have whatever you like."

Wroff grabbed the handle and tugged on the metal door pulling it open. A second later he produced a small clear bag full of sliced meat. "Paige's food…is trapped," said the bewildered giant as he tugged on bag that had no openings.

"It's just in a sealed baggy. Here I'll help you with it."

By the time Wroff was asking why the meat was cut into such thin strips Randall had changed into Paige's father's clothes. The tan pants and white button up shirt was plain attire, but Flare had seen several other people wearing similar clothing on the streets. "Thank you for the clothing," he said to Paige. "Time is short, and my task I'm afraid, will not be easy, I should go."

"Be careful," said Flare, "and good luck."

* * *

By the third day of Randall's searching Flare and Tai had managed to calm down considerably. Randall was confident that he was getting closer, and Flare was confident in Randall's abilities. The best thing for them to do was rest up. In the meantime, the future had proven remarkably interesting.

The large rectangular object with a glassy surface turned out to be what Paige called Tee Vee, and had the ability to show pictures that moved. The Tee Vee was basically used to watch the future equivalent of theater.

"Now see that," Tai said to Paige while he pointed at the screen. "The way he's holding his katana doesn't make any sense at all. That stance not only leaves him wide open, it doesn't even have any offensive advantages."

Paige giggled at the remark causing Tai to go slightly red and defensively say, "What?"

"It's just that when most people complain about the realism in movies they usually site the fact that cars don't explode every time that they crash, or that bullets never seem to hit the good guys. I think you're the first person I've met who's picked apart a movie sword stance."

Tai continued to blush and offered a shrug. "Yeah, well…you noticed too, right Flare?"

Flare smiled at his friend. "Can I ask you two something? Will you laugh?"

"Err…if it's funny," Tai replied, causing Paige to giggle again, "but, yeah go ahead and ask. What's on your mind?"

"Remember the two guys who told us what year it was? Beaker and Lurch?"

Paige gave him an odd look. "Beaker and Lurch?"

"Right," Flare shrugged. "I think they said they were names they used on some game, anyway, their hair was…really spiky."

"I remember," said Tai. "Real crazy hair, yeah."

"Um…you mean the Royal Crown?" Paige asked.

Flare shook his head. "Royal Crown?"

"That's what they call that style," she said grabbing a thin book off of the coffee table. "See this guy in the magazine, was his hair like that?"

"Uh-huh, that's pretty close to the way they had it."

"Well, the style's called the Royal Crown, because apparently one of Guardia's Kings wore his hair like that." She shrugged apologetically. "I'm pretty spacey in history class, but I think he was rather famous, ruled Guardia during some war."

"Huh, must be after our time," Tai said. "I'm sure we'd know if one of our King's had that kind of hair."

"Do you think," Flare paused as if reconsidering his words. "Do you think my hair would look good like that."

Tai blinked. "Seriously?"

"Sure, I mean, I've never really been able to figure out what to do with it, and I like the look, it's different, and it might even help out in combat."

"True, the enemy would be too focused on your hair too care about your sword."

"Right…wait," Flare wasn't sure whether his friend had just agreed with him or hit him with a playful jab.

"It's not the most common style to be sure, but it's not unheard of. In fact if you really wanted to get it done there's a salon down the street that could do it." Paige stood and went to the window. "Penny's kind of scared of the height, but I like being on the twentieth story, the views pretty, and you can see a lot down there."

Flare and Tai came up next to her, and she pointed to a bright yellow single story building a ways down the street. "That's Heidi's, the salon I mean, me and Penny get our hair done there."

"You mean all Flare'd have to do to get his hair cut all crazy is go to that building and ask for a Royal Crown?" Tai asked, and when she nodded he turned to his friend with a silly grin. "Do it."

"Really?" Flare said a little surprised. "I was only half serious. It is kind of crazy looking."

"Do it," Tai repeated, his grin widening. "Besides, we've got nothing to do but wait for Randall. I say spike it up real big and heroic. That way when you rescue Gina you'll look the part."

Flare considered his friend's words, then a slight smile broke out on his face. "Really? For real?"

Tai pointed to the yellow building. "Go."

Paige smiled, reaching into her pocket. "If you want to do it, I say go for it. Take my credit card. You saw when I paid for your new clothes right? Just hand them the card, and sign the paper they give back to you."

Flare and Tai both were wearing clothes purchased the day earlier. They didn't know how long they'd be in the future, and having clothes that fit in seemed to only make sense, because Paige's dad's clothing wouldn't fit them, she instead took them to the biggest store either of them had ever seen and picked them out new clothes. Even Wroff had been bought a new outfit. Apparently you could buy almost anything you wanted in the future. Stores even existed to sell clothing specifically for people Wroff's size. Paige had called it a specialty store. Seeing the enormous caveman in modern clothing only seemed to make him look more impressive and outlandish.

Flare took the card and placed it in his pocket. "Okay…but if Randall shows up or calls about finding them come and get me."

"Will do," promised Tai.


	17. War in the Warehouse

**Chapter ****17: War in the Warehouse**

Eight full days passed before Randall's search proved successful. He looked at the four of them as he entered the door, his gaze falling onto Flare's outlandish new hairstyle. Randall still didn't know what to think of the mass of red spikes that sat upon his young friend's head. Then his gaze dropped from Flare's hair down to his eyes. "I found them."

The two young swordsmen leaped to their feet, and Wroff chuckled from a large chair that barely held his weight. "Good. Wroff ready for battle."

Randall pointed to the far wall of the apartment. "They're west of here. In a large building." He paused to consider his words. "Not big like these buildings are. Not tall. The building they are in is very wide and long, but not as tall as these 'sky scrapers'."

"Sounds like a warehouse, maybe," Paige said. "You said west? I think that sounds right."

"Yes, a warehouse, that could very well be true. I did not want to risk discovery, so I did not closely approach the building. I do not know for sure if the others are there, but Xavius is, and if the others are not there as well I would be surprised."

"Where there's smoke there's fire," said Tai.

Flare frowned as he spoke, "If you could sense Xavius, how can we be sure he didn't sense you too." The thought had been bothering Flare for a time, but he hadn't voiced the concern until now.

To their surprise Randall closed his eyes, turned his back to them, and covered his ears with his hands. "Flare, if you would please, use your magic to conjure some fire."

Tai and Paige looked to Flare, but he only shrugged. A moment later a small sphere of flame whooshed to life above his outstretched palm. As soon as the fire ball had been born Randall spun back to face them. "You see? I could not hear or see, but I knew when you actually began to use your magic. Xavius was using magic too, but his magic was much more intense. One of our key advantages is the fact that he doesn't know we have magic, not only that but he does not even know we are here in the future with him. Without actively searching for other magic users I doubt that he can sense us while he's in the middle of performing such high levels of magic himself."

"I'd bet anything he's making their next Gate." Flare turned to face the west wall. "We should go soon, we don't know how long it'll take him to complete it."

"One second." Paige ran off to her parents' room. "Hold on, I've got to grab something."

"Are you prepared for this fight?" Randall looked to the three of his comrades. "It will not be an easy one."

Flare nodded solemnly. "This surprise attack is our best chance of beating Xavius. If we can find him tired and unaware, I think we have a decent shot of winning this right here and now."

"I'll take one and if any of you know how to use the other you can carry it," Paige said, running back into the living room.

"Use what?" Tai asked looking at the two silver objects she held.

"A gun," she said holding one up. "Um, do you have guns in your times?"

Randall shook his head looking curiously at the strange device. "What is it? A weapon of the future, or something else?"

"It's a weapon," Flare confirmed. "We have them in 981, but they're not very common, think of it like a slightly more powerful crossbow, but more expensive and less accurate."

Paige shook her head, a grim smile forming on her face. "Maybe the antiques you're used to are like that, but not guns of this era. These are not only more accurate than any crossbow, but I'll guarantee they're a hell of a lot more powerful."

"Flare you should take it," said Tai. "After all we did lose your crossbow back on the Denadoro."

"This red switch here," Paige said pointing to the gun. "That's the safety; make sure it's on until you want to shoot." She handed him the larger of the two guns and a holster for his back, he quickly strapped the gun in place and put on the long thin coat he had bought a week earlier.

"Dad takes me and Penny shooting at the range. Mom doesn't like it, but he says that they'd only be dangerous if we didn't know how to handle them."

"Makes sense," Tai said. "Like a sword, if you don't know how to handle it you're just as likely to cut yourself or a friend than the enemy."

"How do I reload after I shoot?" Flare asked.

"Don't worry about it. The clip's full and it holds twenty-two rounds."

"You mean I can shoot over twenty times without pause?"

"Another advantage of this era's guns," she replied strapping a holster to her belt and placing her own gun in it.

Flare smiled inwardly. The last time he confronted Xavius he was wishing for a sword. Now he had that and more. Much more. This time things would be different.

* * *

Kyui Wara hated them. Their dead eyes, the way that their metallic bodies parodied that of a living creature, but themselves were no more alive than the scimitars he himself carried. "Why make these abominations?" he said more to himself than Xavius, but the sorcerer responded anyway.

"To serve them. Is it not obvious?"

Kyui Wara didn't reply at first, then turned to the sorcerer who was pouring energy into the nearly finished Gate. "Are the people of the future so weak that they can't serve themselves?"

Xavius laughed at the man's question. "Humans of every era are weak. From the first worthless apes who were nearly wiped out by lizards, to these fools who think machines are a worthy substitute for magic. Man makes tools. It is in his weak nature. These men have built for themselves robots, you have forged yourself blades to make killing easier, it is the same."

Kyui Wara cast an angry glare at the arrogant mage. "Are you weak then as well? Or are sorcerers no longer considered human?"

The question was met with more icy laughter as the Gate burst to life. "Gina, Penelope, Riiza go now and wait for us on the other side." The three girls obediently stepped through the portal. "No, I am no exception. As I am human I am weak."

The Gate closed and the assassin walked away from the sorcerer shaking his head. "Weakness is not something I have ever accepted from myself."

"You misunderstand. I do not accept weakness, I aim to correct it," Xavius said focusing his dark smile on the assassin.

"And I aim to correct the error of your birth assassin," an angry voice called from the shadows.

Kyui Wara looked up in surprise to see the large form of Randall emerge from between isles of unmoving robots. Almost instantly the assassin's twin scimitars were at the ready. "I never would have anticipated our game coming to an end in such an unlikely place, but I'm afraid this time I don't have any choice but to end your pathetic existence, Randall."

Randall drew his sword slowly with his right hand and pointed at the assassin with his left. "I am glad you have enjoyed your games, because Kyui Wara, you are now dead." A bolt of lightning exploded from his outstretched hand slamming into the assassin. Kyui Wara's body crashed into the solid metal of a robot, leaving him stunned and unmoving. With a howl of rage the former knight charged his downed opponent swinging his sword in a powerful arc.

Xavius had been watching the exchange with faint amusement up until the knight had cast the spell. The lightning had been the magic of an inexperienced mage. The equivalent of a newborn baby bawling and not being able to use its voice to speak fully formed words, but it was still magic. The instant of shock almost cost Kyui Wara his life, but Xavius reacted just in time, pulling the assassin to him with an invisible force. Randall's sword struck the robot the assassin had been propped against, toppling it over and filling the building with a thunderous metallic ringing.

Holding the stunned assassin upright with one hand Xavius erected an invisible barrier with the other. No sooner was the barrier formed than a second and third magic attack slammed against it. Turning to the new threat he sneered. "Ah, Flare wasn't it? Apparently your hair isn't the only thing that's changed. As I recall, you and your friend weren't anything near wizards the last time we crossed paths."

Flare's only response was sending a pillar of flame crashing down onto the invisible shield. The flame was followed instantly by a storm of ice and lightning as all three of the new magic users threw their collective might against him. A blonde girl who Xavius recognized as Penelope's twin opened fire with a hand gun, joining the trio at chipping away at the rapidly weakening barrier.

For the first time since his quest had begun Xavius felt a surge of panic. Frustration, he had stumbled upon more than once, but panic was new, and very unwelcome. In his weakened state from creating so many Gates in such a small period of time he recognized the futility of the battle, instead of retaliating against his attackers the sorcerer relaxed an enchantment he had cast over the building. The many security systems that had been rendered useless during his stay blinked back to life. Sirens instantly began to blare, and the robots Kyui Wara had found so disconcerting clicked on in response to the sudden security threat.

The first of the machines fired a beam of energy from a cannon mounted in its chest at what it considered the greatest threat: the girl with the gun. The group scattered and tried to reestablish their assault, but several more of the robots had now entered the fray. Dropping the magic shield, Xavius sent his magic into the dormant Gate bringing it to life once more. Without looking back the sorcerer dove into the swirling vortex, bringing the assassin with him.

* * *

Riiza gasped when Xavius stumbled out of the Gate, holding her clearly injured brother. She stood in snow up to her knees shivering in the icy wind that blew wildly. The other two girls stood motionless showing no signs of discomfort or surprise.

Xavius dropped the white haired assassin to the ground, and pointed a finger down at the unconscious man, sending a streak of angry red and yellow light into his chest. Instantly his eyes grew aware and he began coughing violently. His hands were gripping his scimitars so tightly that they each bore bright red marks once he released them. "What…what happened in there?"

Taking a deep breath of air to calm his mind Xavius answered, "It seems that our friends have not only managed to pursue us this far, but that they've learned magic somewhere along the way as well."

"Is that even possible?" Riiza asked.

"Of course it is," Xavius snapped. "Hopefully that building's security systems will accomplish what you failed to do in the Denadoro Mountains, assassin."

Ignoring the insult Kyui Wara stood, only to realize that his entire body ached worse than he'd ever felt. "This place…did you take us back to prehistory?"

"No," Xavius said as he began to walk. "This is not the same ice age as before. Hurry, we must be on our way."

Penelope and Gina fell into stride beside the sorcerer. Riiza went to her limping brother's side. "Do you need any help?"

He shook his head. "I'll be fine."

"What happened? Back there?"

"Unless I'm very much mistaken, I was struck by lightning."

* * *

"Dammit!" Flare watched as the sorcerer vanished into the depths of time. Their surprise assault had gone far better than they had hoped, but then these things attacked, allowing the sorcerer to escape. Flare's first instinct was to rush to the Gate and follow, and under normal circumstances that would have worked fine; however, a large quantity of the strange metal monsters had that area blocked off.

"What in the name of the two moons are they?" Tai called out as he ducked behind a large crate.

"Robots!" Paige yelled back also taking refuge behind a group of crates. "They're machines that can think! And these seem to have been built for security, in other words their only purpose is to fight!"

"Wroff fight too!" The caveman who had been so frustrated by the fact that he couldn't participate in the long range battle against Xavius, charged the robot closest to him. His club fell, crushing the metal dome that served as the things head. As Wroff lifted his club to strike again the robot countered with a punch. While Flare was sure that if he ever punched Wroff it would be his own fist that took damage, the robot's single blow sent the caveman flying backwards, splintering the crate he crashed into.

The robot's head was severely dented, but otherwise it didn't look as though it had been damaged badly. Faster than seemed possible the big man was on top of it again, wildly thrashing the machine with both clubs.

Paige leaned out from her cover, taking aim at one of the robots that was headed towards Wroff. Her heart was beating faster than she thought possible, and all she wanted was to be somewhere else, anywhere else. Then she thought of Penny, her twin sister. She took a deep breath and in the pause between inhale and exhale she opened fire. The first round ricocheted harmlessly off of its metal skin, but the second round struck it in the eye, shattering one of the cameras that allowed it to see.

The damaged machine turned towards the new threat and light began to gather in the hole in its chest. Before the laser canon could finish charging she fired on it again, taking its other eye, then dove behind a different crate letting the robot blindly attack her previous position.

"Flare watch out!" Tai called as the first of several robots rounded a corner and came at them. Like he had done against Xavius Flare focused all of his magic into one spot, his mind's eye envisioning the complete and utter destruction of his target. A red-orange inferno leaped from his hands and exploded around the oncoming machine. The flames lasted for several seconds before dieing out. Flare could feel that he had exhausted himself magically, the feeling while similar to physical weariness was a unique sensation he'd never before felt.

The robot stepped out of the flame, its metal frame glowing dimly from the heat, the lenses of its eyes had melted and the glass oozed down its front. Despite the damage done, the laser canon on its chest hadn't been destroyed, but before it was able to fire the air around the robot began to shimmer with bright blue light.

As Flare had done, Tai unleashed the remainder of his magic on the robot. The metal of its body that had just been super heated began to crack as it rapidly cooled. By the time it tried to fire it had suffered too much damage, and its laser exploded inwardly, tearing the machine in two.

Drawing _Azure Wind _Tai rushed the next robot. Flare started to follow suite, but as his own katana was being drawn the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Following his instinct Flare dove to his left. The blue-violet streak of energy barely missed its target. Holding onto his sword with his left hand, Flare reached into his coat and grabbed the gun Paige had given him. Still on the ground Flare used his legs to spin his body around. The robot's canon was already charging for a second blast when he pulled the trigger, or tried to. For a moment panic set in as the trigger would budge, then he remembered the safety that Paige had shown him. Flicking the safety switch off with his thumb he pulled the trigger again. This time the gun fired. Seeing no other choice Flare repeatedly squeezed the trigger. A few seconds and a dozen rounds later the circular glass lens that focused the laser canon was shattered.

With its primary method of attacking gone the robot charged. Flare leapt to his feet in time for the robot to swat the gun out of his hands. Flare avoided the second blow by spinning out of the way, and instantly countered with his katana. Against a normal foe the barrage of slashes would have proven fatal, but against the robot they did little more than scratch it. The robot punched at him again and Flare jumped back, but he wasn't fast enough and the blow partially connected, sending him flying backwards.

The robot charged again taking advantage of his downed position to finish him off, but Flare was already in position for a counterstrike. Without standing he thrust the blade of _Crimson Eon_ into the hole that used to be the robot's laser canon. The machine's own momentum drove the blade straight through it. Sparks danced around Flare's head and then a cough of black smoke erupted from the hole. Flare stood and yanked his sword out as the robot crashed to the floor.

"The police are coming!" Paige yelled from her defensive position. "I can hear their sirens outside!"

The sound of battle attempted to drown out the distant wails of oncoming sirens but barely failed. "You're right! But we can't let them catch us! Everyone, to the Gate now!"

As he yelled the command Tai reappeared at his side, the robot he had been fighting was thrashing on the ground too damaged to properly function. Pausing briefly to grab his gun from the ground Flare took off at a run to where they had heard Paige's voice. "Paige, it's Flare! We have to go now! To where the Gate is that Xavius went through!"

Two more shots rang out, before she leaped from behind a stack of heavily damaged crates. Flare made sure to get her attention by making eye contact before turning to sprint to the Gate. There had been too many of the robots near the Gate to have got to it before, but many of the mechanical guards had dispersed to surround and fight them. The ones that remained were engaged in a fierce battle with both Randall and Wroff.

With what could only be described as superhuman strength the caveman lifted one of the fallen robots over his head and brought it crashing down on another. Sparks flew as Randall hit one from the side before it could ambush Wroff from the back. Jumping over scattered debris, Flare grasped the round time stone in his hand as he reached the point that Xavius had been. As the Gate opened he turned to watch the others make their approach. Both Tai and Randall had sheathed their weapons and were sprinting ahead of the others, almost effortlessly Wroff slammed a robot to the side when it tried to block his path, and Paige fired her pistol over her shoulder, the bullets splintered wood from crates and sparked against the metal objects inside them.

Flare stood motionless as his friends rushed past him and into the unknown. The robots had them surrounded, but were unsure of the massive vortex that had appeared from nowhere and did not come nearer. In the far end of the building a door opened and several figures came rushing in. Flare could here them shouting, but over the noise of the Gate, the noise of time itself being twisted in the wrong direction, he couldn't hear what they were saying.

Their surprise attack had come close. Close. So close that Flare could almost cry in frustration. Xavius had been exhausted and almost overcome, but in the end he had had a trick up his sleeve. Close, but still a failure. Flare turned and entered the Gate, leaving the battlefield of the future in the past.


	18. Homecoming

**Chapter 18: Homecoming**

"At least this time we have coats." Flare tried to smile at his friend's optimistic observation but was still too upset to make much of an effort. Less than an hour had passed since the battle in the warehouse, in that time they had visited Spekkio again in order to unleash Paige's latent magic, gone through the gate to this new ice age, and returned to the end of time so that Paige could go into the future and buy cold weather clothing for them.

Only Tai had accompanied Paige back into her own time. If all of them had gone it would have only taken longer, and Flare's spiky hair was likely noticed either by the police or what Paige had called the security cameras in the warehouse. Even though Flare hated to give Xavius any extra time to get ahead of them, he wasn't willing to risk nearly dying again in another blizzard.

"I'm pretty sure my card is maxed now. It's a good thing that Wroff didn't need anything for the cold," Paige said as they waited for Randall to return, who was currently circling their perimeter trying to locate Xavius's magic trail. While not at blizzard level, the constant snow fall had erased all traces of Xavius's passing.

Wroff, dressed once again in his heavy animal furs, smiled down at Paige. "Wroff come from land of big snow. Not grow weak in cold."

"This way," Randall called to them as he headed north. They followed, keeping up with Randall's speed as he stayed a good distance ahead of them so that their magic wouldn't throw his senses off. At first the white landscape was broken only by the rare pine tree, but as they marched onward the trees grew more and more frequent. Within the second hour of their journey they had walked into the middle of a dense forest.

Soon they followed Randall more from his tracks in the snow and less through sight. Up ahead of them the silhouette of the ex-knight came to a stop. Flare squinted. "I think he's waving us forward. Come on, let's catch up to him."

Looking down at the snowy forest floor Randall pointed out what he'd found. "The tree canopy of this forest has broken the snowfall somewhat. If you look carefully you can see where a group recently passed through here. Five people."

Tai studied the ground where Randall was pointing. "Mmmm, I think I see what you're saying. So this means we're on the right track?"

Randall nodded. "Yes, this is them. From this point on I should be able to track them by conventional means."

It wasn't long before the trees fell away into a large clearing. The physical trail ended with the tree cover, but they had no doubt were it would have led. At the center of the clearing stood a large, roughly dome shaped building. The silver material it was made from reflected the sunlight less than the surrounding snow, making the structure appear darker than it really was. A pale purple glow was emitted from the structure's top, and the same glow came from four smaller structures that surrounded the central one.

"Well, the central thing is a building, I think. I'm pretty sure I can see the doorway from here," Flare said.

"Why does it glow?" Wroff asked curiously.

"Maybe it's powered by electricity," Paige offered.

"No. This place is charged with magic," Randall said.

Flare looked to Randall. "If that's true…then I don't like the idea of Xavius being in there."

Randall drew his sword. "We should proceed with caution. They could be waiting for us in there, or they might have left a trap knowing we would investigate the building."

The others followed Randall's example, weapons at the ready, they approached the odd structure. Their entrance was greeted only with silence. The inside was quiet, still, almost serene. The high walls and ceiling blocked off any noise from the outside wind, and nothing on the inside moved. The building was almost completely empty, save for a set of stairs that led to a raised platform. From the top of that platform the same violet light as the buildings outside produced shone, illuminating the inner building with an eerie glow. The entire place felt more alien than anything else Flare had experienced since his time traveling days had begun.

"We seem to be alone, but we should still be careful," Flare said as he started up the stairway.

"What is that?" Tai asked as he crested the top of the stairs.

"It's pretty, but strange," Paige said. A large circular design was etched into the floor at the top of the platform. The shining light was coming exclusively from within it.

"I don't think it's dangerous," Flare said. "I don't know why, but I don't think this thing is dangerous."

"I agree," Randall said as he examined the glowing symbol. "It is magical, perhaps even more magical than anything we've encountered, save for the Gates, but this does not feel treacherous in the slightest."

"Xavius came here," Flare said to himself, "but now he's gone. Now he's not here, but this is, then that means…" He trailed off. Then with a nod to himself he sheathed his sword. "This thing is a means of transportation, probably."

"You think this is a teleportation device?" Paige asked. "Can magic do that?"

"If magic can send you through time I'd assume it could send you through space as well." Flare took a deep breath and stepped into the middle of the glowing floor. For a moment there was nothing. Then all at once he had the sensation of rushing upward, but before he could panic the feeling was gone. Nothing had changed; he was still in the strange building. "What was that?" he asked, when no one answered he turned around. "Guys?"

Flare stood on top of the platform alone. With a sudden twinge of anxiety he started to make his way down the stairs. "Guys! Where did you go?"

"Flare! Flare are you here?"

Flare spun at the sound of Tai's voice. His four companions stood at the top of the platform on the glowing symbol. "What's going on? You all disappeared."

Paige shook her head. "No you disappeared. Right after you stepped onto the symbol you vanished. It looks like we've followed."

"So, it did take us somewhere else?" Flare said in awe. "Then where are we?" Without answering Randall rushed passed Flare and down the stairs. Flare shared a brief look of surprise with Tai before turning to watch Randall exit to the outside. "What the?" Flare muttered to himself as he began running to the exit, his other friends close behind.

"Randall, what's going…" Flare started to ask as he came to a stop next to Randall, but stopped short at what he found waiting on the outside. The vast frozen world was gone, replacing the snowy forest there were gently rolling grass covered hills. Off in the distance the white and gold buildings of what could only be a city stood propped against a tall mountain. The sky was clear and blue, not clouded and gray, and the air was no longer frigid, instead it was comfortably warm. Flare's heavy coat was suddenly as out of place as the snow that still clung to it.

Tai elbowed him, and when Flare's only response was to keep staring off into the emerald hillside Tai elbowed him again. "What?" Tai responded to the question by pointing off to the south. At first Flare thought he was looking at the ocean. The thought faded away as soon as it formed. What Tai was pointing at was not the ocean, it was the sky. Flare blinked trying to make sense of what he was seeing. The ground simply ended and gave way to open sky.

"What do you figure? Are we next to a cliff? A really, really high one?" Tai asked clearly as confused as his friend.

"I don't know. Randall what do you think?" As Flare turned toward Randall he noticed for the first time the tension in his face. "Randall, what's wrong?"

Randall looked at Flare, his eyes alight with confusion, astonishment, and something else. Panic? "Can't you feel it?" the ex-knight asked. Flare shook his head and opened his mouth to talk, but before he could Randall cut him off. "Just close your eyes and feel the air around you. Trust me."

Flare shrugged and did as Randall said. The air was warm and there was a soft breeze that was pleasant rather than offensive. The only sound was that of birds singing happily in the sky above the unlikely paradise, but then he felt something else. Once he felt it he couldn't un-feel it, and soon all the hair on his body was standing on end.

The very air was charged with magic.

"This place is saturated with magic!" Randall hissed. "The air, the earth, and over there! That city contains more magic than we've ever come across! It is as though every man, woman, and child is magic!" He shook his head slowly and stared down at his feet, breathing a heavy sigh. "There is no way to track a man by his magic in this place. It would be like trying to follow foot prints through a lake. It cannot be done."

Flare's heart suddenly clenched as his spirit fell. Somewhere within this warm green paradise Gina was hidden, and for the first time in a long time he had no way to find her.

* * *

The door handle did not budge, not that Kyui Wara was expecting it to. No, he fully expected that all the exits were sealed. Xavius wouldn't risk them escaping, not that he had anything to worry about. Even if they did get out of this house, a mansion really, where would they go? Off into the capital city? Or into the country side of Zeal? No, this was a land where those with magic ruled, and those without were nothing but second class at best, slaves at worst.

"The window maybe?" Riiza suggested as her brother stared blankly at the door he had failed to open.

"No," he said turning to his sister. "We're sealed within these walls, but it doesn't matter, even if we weren't, there isn't any real escape."

"Do you...do you really think we need to escape?" She asked clearly fearing the answer.

"I don't know. Maybe not," he said. "Once he can complete this ceremony he's mentioned, he might let us go, just as he promises."

What was really bothering Kyui Wara was that if Xavius planned on double crossing them there was nothing he could do about it. Without magic it was clear that he posed no threat to the sorcerer, and since arriving here, in this place that Xavius had called the Kingdom of Zeal, the sorcerer had shown nothing but confidence that Randall and the others would not again be able to find them. What sickened the assassin more than having that last hope cut off, was the fact that his last hope had him depending on the aid of others.

"Can you get magic? Like those others?" Riiza asked in a hushed tone, afraid that the walls might betray her to their master.

Kyui Wara shrugged. "I doubt it."

"Oh," Riiza said in disappointment.

The assassin ran his fingers through his white hair and gave his sister a rare smile. "Don't worry, I'll think of something, but you need your rest."

"You're right," she said brightening at her brother's smile. She curled up on a large, lavish sofa and closed her eyes. In moments she had drifted to sleep, leaving her brother alone to his thoughts.

* * *

The Great Lower Chamber of Zeal Palace was full of activity. Scholars sifted through the countless thousands of books, searching for the right incantation, or perhaps comparing various takes of Zeal's rich history. Fully qualified wizards were surrounded by groups of young children whom they showed the proper way to control magic. Men and women, adult and child, all gathered to learn and better themselves. They called themselves enlightened. Xavius called them fools. Fools playing with a power that they could never fully understand, never even have the courage to attempt to understand.

Many of the young men and women glanced at him with curious eyes, but were too afraid to look for long. His black hair shimmered in the light cast from hundreds of glowing orbs, each one imbued with the magic of light. His glass like hair was a sign of having used what they were all told was forbidden, not just of having used forbidden magic, but having used advanced forbidden magic.

An older man saw him and stopped dead in his tracks. Unlike the young people this man recognized him not only for what he was but for who he was. After staring a moment in disbelief the older man turned and left. Xavius smiled to himself.

A young man herded a group of children out of his way as he walked down the chamber, as though what Xavius had was not the courage and wisdom to do what they could not, but an incurable disease. One girl; however, did not follow the rest of the children. The adult wizard was waved aside when he tried to get her to come back with the others. Reluctantly he gave in, and with a small bow he let her approach the dangerous stranger.

Her lavender dress was cut from far finer cloth than what her peers wore and served to enhance the beauty of her wavy aquamarine hair. The girl wasn't over nine years old, yet her eyes shone with intelligence and awareness unmatched by any of her seniors.

Xavius smiled down at the child. "Ah, Schala, how you've grown in the time I've been away."

His recognition of her served to confirm her suspicion, but the uncertain look remained in the girl's eyes. "Uncle, is that really you?"


	19. In Pursuit of Radical Dreams

**Chapter 19: In Pursuit of Radical Dreams**

Xavius favored his niece with an icy smile. "Yes, dear Schalla, it's truly me. Does my appearance bother you?"

She stared unblinking into the abyss of his black eyes and shook her head. "You've practiced forbidden magic."

"I've practiced magic beyond the intelligence or courage of most," Xavius corrected, giving the young mage who had been tutoring the children a mocking look.

The young man, to Xavius's surprise, chose to challenge the statement rather than keep silent. "Men with more intelligence, wisdom, _or_ courage than any of us in this room have deemed the use of certain magics _forbidden_ for good reason."

The black sorcerer frowned at the man. "You were not invited to speak, here in the presence of royalty. Forget your place again and I'll have you executed."

The young man blanched and lowered his gaze submissively to the floor. Schalla turned to look at him and spoke in an even tone, confident despite her young age. "Don't worry Dalton. Father would never allow you to be sentenced to death for speaking your mind." She turned back to her uncle with a frown. "You shouldn't jest like that."

Xavius's smile widened into a mocking grin. "I apologize. It won't happen again, I promise. Oh, and speaking of your dear father, where might I find him. I long to speak with my brother."

Schalla blinked at the question. "He's coming. I'm sure someone had told him of your return a while ago. He's been coming this way since before I saw you."

Xavius's smile faltered a bit as he considered his niece's curious words. Was she really that sensitive to magic? Could she tell instantly where specific people were even throughout the haze of all the surrounding magic? He cast his gaze to the far end of the chamber, and true to the young girl's words the King of Zeal soon appeared. He looked down at Schalla again. Had she guessed? Simply gotten lucky? Or was she actually at a level that much higher than himself? After moment of thought he decided that it mattered not. He'd soon have a power an infinite times greater than anything Schalla, or anyone, could imagine. His niece's incredible talent would have to remain a vague curiosity.

A moment later Xavius stood before his brother, the King of the Magic Kingdom of Zeal, for the first time in over three years. The king looked down at his daughter. "Schalla, Janus is throwing one of those fits of his and your mother can't get him to calm down. Would you mind helping her out? He always falls straight to sleep when you sing that song of yours to him."

The princess smiled up at her father and nodded. Sparing only a quick final glance at her mysterious uncle she ran off. Xavius smiled at his brother. "What is this? I have a nephew now? How exciting."

The king glowered at his brother. "Xavius, you've been gone for three years, and then you return out of the blue, like this!" He ended in a sharp hiss that did little to hide his seething anger.

Xavius spread his arms wide in mock dismay and hurt. "Are you not happy to see your little brother after such a long time? I'm hurt, Jansen, I really am."

"You come here and practically announce to the Kingdom that you, Prince Xavius, brother to the King and currently third in line to the throne, have been practicing_ forbidden arts_!"

"Now brother, I'm only continuing what we once started together. Don't you remember those days? When we both longed for knowledge greater than what any before have had? Before you lost your nerve and hid behind your precious throne."

The King's face had gone stiff. Xavius accusing him of practicing forbidden magic! In a public arena! Had the man lost his mind? Lesser crimes against the Crown were punishable by death, Prince or not. "I was curious, as any young man is," Jansen said under his breath, "but when it came time to throw out childish and dangerous games I chose to grow up and face my responsibility to the Kingdom. While you, you _what_? Are you honestly still on about _that_?"

"Oh yes, Jansen, I am most assuredly still on about _that_. Unlike some I don't turn my back on my dreams just because they seem a little difficult."

"Xavius, this is madness. Those books were written by a lunatic. They were fun to play around with when we were younger, but you have to come to your senses! What they describe isn't magic, it's an impossibility. The man who wrote them wasn't a genius, he was a madman! A madman who happened to know just enough magic to trick two boys into believing his fairytales."

Xavius waggled a finger at his older brother. "Not a genius, no, but not a madman either. A Dreamer."

Exasperation mixed with Jansen's anger. "Due you jest? Now you believe he was a Dreamer?"

"Yes," Xavius said with a wicked smile, "and the worst kind at that. He was a Radical Dreamer."

"You've deluded yourself beyond my imagination, Xavius, can you really expect me to believe that those books were written by a Radical Dreamer? For starters there is no evidence of the sort. If there was, someone long before you would have figured it out."

Xavius shrugged. "Apparently not, or if they had, they lacked the courage to press onward."

"Please leave," Jansen said quietly. "Please leave and never return. Go and chase your mad...your Radical Dreams elsewhere."

"While I'm sad you see it that way Jansen, I must admit I'm not surprised. You always were the weaker of us."

The King's anger flared back up. "Leave now or forfeit your life, Xavius."

"First give me the book. You obviously have no use for it, and seeing how it's nothing but 'lunacy' no one else should miss it either."

Jansen bit back his tongue before he could repeat the order and instead reached into his robes, producing a small leather bound book. "I thought this was what you were here for, but I had hoped that maybe the madness hadn't gripped you so tightly. Take it and leave." He tossed the book to his younger brother. "Leave now and do not return. You have made your choice."

Xavius didn't hear his brother's last words. He was already flipping through the pages of the small book. The twin to the book he himself carried. Inside were the remaining secrets, the remaining secrets left behind by a Radical Dreamer, waiting for someone with the cunning to figure them out. He had read through it before, long ago with his brother, but back then they couldn't decipher the code, but now after coming so far the book's secrets were bare before him.

"Thank you brother," he said without looking up. Without speaking further he turned and left.

* * *

The three women disappeared through the swirling vortex. The Gate had been within Xavius's mansion in an unfinished form for over a year. With the last pieces of information fished from within the book he had just acquired, Xavius was able to finish it within the day.

Kyui Wara watched as Xavius proceeded to spell the rest of the mansion. Moments later the sorcerer was finished. "Are you done?" the assassin asked.

Xavius smiled. "Yes. I just had to put up one final safeguard."

"Against Randall and the others," Kyui Wara said flatly.

Instead of growing angry like the assassin expected Xavius simply nodded. "They're here in Zeal somewhere, and in the event they find this place, which they quite possibly will, considering the resourcefulness they've shown thus far, I just want to make sure that they can't follow us any further."

Kyui Wara nodded, but in truth he was troubled by the news. If what the sorcerer said was true, then he really would be on his own from that point on.

* * *

"Well isn't he the biggest earthbound I've ever seen!" Exclaimed a man who looked to be in his middle years.

"He is isn't he," Flare said after a moment. He didn't know what earthbound meant, but he could hardly argue with anyone who called Wroff big.

Flare and the others had learned that the city they had seen at the mountain's base was the capital of the kingdom known as Zeal. The _magic _kingdom known as Zeal. Which was the problem that plagued them. The entire kingdom resided on a floating continent, held high above the ground by the force of magic. Magic beyond any limits they had previously imagined. Their fledgling magic senses were useless in the current environment.

With no means of magically tracking Xavius, they had resorted to a more old fashion style of searching. "Hey, you don't happen to know where we could find a black sorcerer named Xavius do you?" Flare asked the man before he could walk away.

The group had already learned that the brother of King Zeal was named Xavius. None of them, especially Flare, were thrilled to learn this. The fact that Xavius might be a highly ranked authority figure in such a dangerous kingdom could only be thought of as bad news. They had also learned that his appearance, the shiny glass like hair and eyes, was a sign of having heavily used certain forbidden magics. The residents of Zeal called the mages who had become like that 'black sorcerers' or 'black sorceresses'. So far the search had turned up very little. The most they could find out was that Prince Xavius had not been seen or heard of in over three years.

The man looked for a moment like he was going to leave them without saying anything, but then walked up close and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Have you heard the rumor then? Or do you know something else?"

Flare easily recognized the eyes of an eager gossip and took the chance to gain what information he could. "I know that there is a black sorcerer who calls himself Xavius. I've met him before and now I'm looking for him. What is this rumor you mention? I don't think I've heard it."

Licking his lips eagerly the man looked around at his gathered audience, an odd bunch of four strangely dressed mages and a very primitively dressed earthbound, and said, "They're trying to keep this quiet, but I heard that Prince Xavius was at the castle earlier this morning."

Flare's heart pulled a strange trick of simultaneously rising and sinking. On one hand they might have finally found a lead, on the other hand Xavius was almost certainly the Prince of Zeal. "So the Prince has come back then."

The eager gossiper glanced around as though someone might be listening, giving off the impression that he had yet to get to the real juicy part. "That's not all, but they say he had been marked as a black sorcerer! Can you imagine? The Prince using forbidden magic? They say the King was beside himself with anger, and can you blame him? If my brother showed up as a black sorcerer I'd likely die of shame. And I'm a nobody! Imagine how the King must feel."

"So Xavius really is the Prince of Zeal," Flare said more to himself than the gossiping man.

"If what I've heard is true, and if you really saw him and he called himself Xavius I'm sure it is!"

Flare found the man's excitement almost unbearably annoying, but continued to talk with him anyway. "So he's at the castle then?"

"Oh no. I heard that the King basically banished him! Told him not to ever come back! Can you imagine?"

Flare's heart did the strange trick again. This time the good news was that Xavius had no real power in Zeal after all, but if he wasn't at the castle where could he have gone? "Dammit, I really need to find him."

The man frowned. "I won't go nosing about in your business, but usually only those wanting to know some forbidden magic seek out black sorcerers, and that's trouble you don't really want. Even though you might think you do."

Tai shook his head. "No, we don't want anything to do with any forbidden magic, but we have to find Xavius just the same."

"Well…" The man looked conflicted for a moment. "Well, I do know a place. Most people assume that he just lived at the castle, but I know for a fact that he had himself a mansion that he spent a fair amount of time at."

"Can you tell us how to get to this mansion?" Flare asked evenly.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to point you in the right direction," the man said after a moment of thought.

Flare realized that the man would likely be gossiping about how he had met a group trying to find the Prince to learn forbidden magic as soon as they left, but it didn't really matter. The trail was hot once again.

* * *

"If any one sees us we're going to look pretty suspicious," Paige said, standing to the side of the door pointing her gun at an angle so that she could hit anything in the left side of the room once the door was opened.

Flare, who like Tai had his katana drawn and at the ready shrugged. "I don't really think we've got much of a choice, we are breaking into Xavius's house after all. Besides with the out of the way location this place is in I doubt anyone will happen by to see us."

Randall gripped his sword in his right hand and reached for the door handle with his left. He shook his head. "It's locked."

"Damn," Flare swore. "And the windows are too high for us to reach. We've got to break down the door."

Randall nodded his agreement. "I'd prefer a stealthier entrance, but it seems we have little choice."

As small flickers of electricity began playing across Randall's hand Wroff spoke up, "Wait. No use magic."

Randall turned and looked at the big man. "Why not?"

"You need magic to fight bad wizard. Save magic for bad wizard, let Wroff break door," the caveman said with a grin.

Randall nodded and stepped aside as Wroff positioned himself in front of the ornate door. His arm swept backwards, and then using his full reach to gain momentum the giant of a man slammed his large wooden club against the door. There was a thunderous crack, but the door held fast. Wroff quickly struck again, the second blow sent the door flying off of its hinges and into the mansion. The group rushed in weapons at the ready but found themselves very alone in a large room.

The silence of the room was broken by a faint humming noise. "It sounds like a spell," Flare said glancing about the room in an attempt to locate the source of the noise.

"Over there!" Tai said pointing with the tip of his katana to the room's far left side. "It's a Gate."

"Then they've already left. We have no choice but to follow again," Flare said heading to the newly discovered Gate, but even as he spoke the humming intensified until there wasn't any doubt of the source.

"Why Gate make noise?" Wroff asked.

"Flare, what's happening?" Paige asked as they watched the Gate apprehensively.

"I…I don't know," Flare said. A transparent red box had formed around the Gate. The humming noise came to a stop, but the box remained.

Flare held out the blue Gate stone, but to his dismay the Gate didn't react. "This, box, this barrier, is keeping the Gate from opening."

"Wroff smash door. Wroff smash box." The caveman said raising a club into the air. Flare and the others stepped back as he brought the club crashing down. As soon as the club hit, it bounced away, as though the box was made of rubber.

"That didn't work," Tai said with a sigh. "Now what?"

Sheathing his sword Flare held both hands out toward the transparent floating box. "We hit it with magic. Everything we have." The others nodded and surrounded their inanimate foe. Elemental magic smashed against the box with explosive force, knocking the spell casters backwards.

When the smoke cleared the box remained unfazed. "Flare, I could shoot it," Paige offered, but Flare shook his head.

"No, we can't break it. Shooting it might just hurt one of us with the ricochet." The group stood silently staring at the unattainable Gate. "He's worried now," Flare said. "He knows we're a threat, so he's finally taken a step against us."

"But we can't threaten him if we can't use the Gate," said Tai solemnly.

"We're leaving," Flare said as he started for the mansion's broken front door. "Hurry up, we don't have time to lose. Xavius is getting close to his goal, whatever it is."

"What do you have in mind?" Randall asked.

Flare turned to face his friends. "It's time we asked Gasper what he really knows about Xavius."

* * *

Wizard Veemoli stroked his long white beard out of habit as he thumbed through an old book. He stood and returned the book to its place on a tall oak shelf, only to grab a different one. A small pain in his hip caused him to slightly wince as he returned to his chair. Growing old effected everyone the same, not even the King's Wizard could escape the cruel bite of old age.

As he opened the book a small itch formed in the back of his mind. After unsuccessfully trying to read the opening few paragraphs he sat the book down. The itch remained. Gnawing at the back of his mind. He frowned as he tried to gather his focus, something was wrong, but what? He looked around his small house. Two bedrooms connecting to a larger living room which he currently sat. He stared unblinking into the small fire that glowed in the hearth. What was it?

He went pale, recognition slamming into him. "No," he gasped as he rushed to his feet. "No," he repeated has he ran to a window and stared off into the distance. Somewhere over that seemingly innocent hill three of the _keys_ were gathered. "No, dammit! No!" He slammed his fist onto a wooden shelf as he shouted in denial.

"Daddy? What's wrong? Why are you shouting?" A young woman's voice drifted from one of the bedrooms.

He looked toward the room where his daughter was and the old man's face lost what little color it had left. His eyes went back to the window searching the distance. Somewhere over that seemingly innocent hill three of the _keys_ had been gathered, and whoever had managed to gather them had now come for the fourth and final _key_.


	20. Gasper's Tale

**Chapter 20: Gasper's Tale**

The air was perpetually still, not so much as a weak breeze blew through the place Gasper had come to know as the End of Time. At least that was what he had believed in the beginning, but after having been there for so long he had come to know the subtleties of the place. He felt the ever so slight pressure of the air on his face. Even the smoke that hung in a wreath above his head seemed to hold still, but the air _had_ moved. Gasper took another puff of his pipe and turned his gaze up to the raised platform that was separated from him by only a short stone stairway.

Several pinpoints of blue light appeared and slowly made there transformation into cylindrical pillars that shone coldly against the cobblestone floor. As he watched one of the pillars began to swell, until it exploded upwards into the empty black sky. The whole event transpired without a sound, not so much as a whisper, but the air moved oh so slightly that Gasper thought at times that he was only imagining it.

Out of the shining pillar a young man with fiery red hair done up in exaggerated spikes emerged. Gasper knew the man was called Flare, and had been expecting that it was him and his companions once again. No sooner had the red headed youth stepped out of the light than four others followed. Three men and a young woman. Gasper had been asleep when they had returned for the second time, but would have known they had returned even if Spekkio hadn't informed him.

The young man calmly approached him, the others following with a look of uncertain expectation on their faces. Flare's face alone was set in an emotionless mask as he came to stand before Gasper under the lamppost. Gasper took another casual puff of his pipe as he met the young man's intense gaze. "Tell me what you know about Xavius," Flare said levelly.

Instead of responding Gasper simply continued to puff on his pipe, adding to the halo of smoke above him. With reflexes considerably quicker than Gasper knew the young man had, Flare drew his sword with a swing that stopped mere centimeters from his neck. "I don't have time to play games with you old man," Flare said in a dangerously calm voice. Neither his voice, nor the blade he held against Gasper's neck shook in the slightest.

While Gasper's expression didn't waver, the shock on Flare's companion's faces was apparent. The blonde girl let out an involuntary gasp. The brown haired youth's hands clutched the hilt of his own sword, clearly uncertain of what to do. The giant prehistoric man's entire body tensed in response to his smaller friend's unexpected aggression. Only the man with the hard gray eyes didn't flinch, seemingly not surprised by Flare's course of action.

"Flare, what are you…," the stocky brown haired man began cautiously.

"Quiet Tai," Flare cut him off with the same dangerously calm voice.

After a moment Gasper harrumphed through his thick gray mustache. "The rashness of youth isn't something I've never been exposed to, and neither is the desperation of young love."

Flare's surprise only slightly broke the emotionless mask he wore, but Gasper noticed it as easily as though he had shouted. "You mentioned a girl named Gina when you were here before, and even if you had not, it is easy enough to read the motivation in each of your eyes." He took another slow puff ignoring the razor sharp blade at his neck. "You and the young lady are motivated by love, I'll assume for the women that Xavius has kidnapped. Your friend here is also motivated partially by love, but mostly through loyalty. Ayla's son-"

Wroff smiled slightly at the mentioning of his mother. "Oh yes, Wroff, just as your mother remembered me I too remember her. As I was saying, Wroff is motivated partially by sheer wanderlust, and now too it has been tempered with the loyalty born of friendship."

Gasper's gaze shifted to the gray eyed man. "And you are driven by revenge."

"That's all very interesting," Flare said, "but we didn't come here for you to tell us about ourselves; we came to learn what you know about Xavius."

Gasper nodded. "Very well, despite your individual motivations you all share the same resolve…" He glanced at the blade held at his neck for the first time. "I'll be able to speak more freely if my head remains attached to my neck."

Sheathing his sword Flare said, "So speak."

Gasper reached into one of his coat pockets, producing a small pouch of tobacco. Flare forced himself to remain patient as Gasper refilled his pipe and resumed his habitual puffing. As he adjusted his bowler hat his eyes widened slightly as he looked at Flare, or rather Flare's hair. He hadn't noticed until then for the simple reason that it was too familiar. "With your hair like that you look like someone," he said, frustrated that he hadn't noticed the resemblance before.

"An ancient King of Guardia, right?" Flare said, using what patience he had to keep the sarcasm in his voice to a minimum.

"_Ancient _doesn't have much meaning here, but yes, I suppose he did become a King of Guardia," Gasper said to Flare's surprise and looked at him curiously for a moment. "I must not have noticed the resemblance earlier due to the hair. With him all you really noticed was that ridiculous hair…but that's neither here nor there is it?"

"No," Flare agreed. "It's not."

Gasper recollected his thoughts and began, "Xavius was, or rather still is I suppose, a Prince of the magical kingdom that was known as Zeal."

Flare gave a small nod. "Yes, we've already learned that much, but go on."

"Oh you know that? I see. Yes, he is a Prince of Zeal, though I must admit that I assumed he had been killed by his own magic; unfortunately, that seems not to be the case. Xavius Zeal was the younger brother of Jansen Zeal, the man who became Zeal's king. He was a gifted student, not the most gifted I've ever seen mind you, for there were those who came before, and after, with more talent than he. His talent wasn't the kind that only surfaces once in every several generations, but rather the kind that is present in every generation, but only in a few individuals every generation. Still, besides being skillful at magic he was also cunning and very tenacious."

Gasper paused to give Flare a meaningful look. "But sometimes tenacity is a greater asset to have than skill, skill can to a point be taught after all, while tenacity cannot." Flare returned the look levelly and remained silent until Gasper resumed. "He was also ambitious. In time he fell victim to the call for greater power and I suppose it is then that he began practicing forbidden magic. He disappeared and no one dared to speak his name when they thought the King might somehow overhear. Still, rumors cannot be stopped, and the Kingdom for the most part knew he had used forbidden magic, and when he never returned everyone assumed he had finally fallen to his own magic, destroyed by his very ambition.

"The King I believe was involved with whatever Xavius's goal was. At the beginning anyway, when they were both just young men, the Princes of Zeal. King Jansen had the good sense to get out, but I'm afraid Xavius did not. No one ever asked the king directly what he and his brother's youthful quest had been, but I think we can now assume with confidence that it pertained to the manipulation of time. That he may have succeeded, in full or in part, is a disturbing thought."

"I take it that time manipulation is not a common usage of magic," Flare said as Gasper paused to momentarily focus on his smoking.

He harrumphed again. "Not common? No boy, it's barely even heard of. Apart from myself, there's only one man I've known that has successfully manipulated time. He was only successful once exposed to high levels of technology and used that in conjunction with magic. As for my own eventual success, it was only achieved once I found myself here, and had gotten a far greater understanding of time than that could have been attained from within the normal temporal flow, and before you ask, I cannot aid you in time travel. All I achieved was the creation of a single device, and it has already been used."

Tai frowned as he spoke, "But you've obviously time traveled to _get_ here, and you weren't overly surprised to find us as _visitors. _Not only that, but you've known other time travelers, like Wroff's mother."

"Yes," Gasper agreed, "but you must realize that time Gates are a naturally occurring phenomenon. Much like, say, a thunderstorm only much, much less common. Xavius should not be capable of personally constructing his own Gates via magic."

"Yet he is," Flare said dryly. "If it should be impossible how then does he do it?"

"I have a partial theory," Gasper said. "Let me explain. Ah, I know. First a demonstration. I believe Spekkio told me that your name is Paige."

"That's right," the young woman said.

"Paige, if you would be so kind could you levitate a bit for us. Not very high my dear, just say a foot or two off the ground," Gasper asked.

"No, no I can't," she stammered.

"Please try."

"Okay, I'll try," Paige said uncertainly. She closed her eyes and stood still. For the first few moments nothing happened, but then a thin wave of heat began emitting out of her body, quickly growing into a visible red glow. Flare and the others were forced to step away from her once the heat grew too intense. She opened her eyes and looked to her feet, which were planted firmly on the cobblestone below. "See, I can't do it."

"Of course not," Gasper said with a kindly smile, "or rather it's more accurate to say that you do not know how, because you could, anyone with magic could, but you've only had control of magic for a very short time. All four of you with magic could levitate and more if you learned to control your magic, but at your current level the most you can manage is elemental manipulation, which is much easier because all those with magic can instinctively control the magic of their own element." He reached into a coat pocket and pulled out a plain silver ring. With a slight flick of his wrist he tossed it to Paige. "Now put that ring on and try again."

She slid the ring onto her right index finger. "It fits," she said with mild surprise. "It looked too big."

"Yes, well it is a magical ring after all," Gasper said smiling. "Now go on, levitate."

Before Gasper finished speaking Paige rose off the ground, clearly surprised to find herself at Wroff's eyelevel. Gently floating back to the ground she laughed. "That was amazing!"

"So the ring has the power to make people fly, even if they can't on their own," said Flare.

"Not quite," Gaspar said. "It was Paige's own magical power that caused her to levitate. What the ring did was direct her magic in a way that she didn't consciously know how to do on her own. To someone without magic such as Wroff the ring is just a ring, nothing more." Paige made to hand the ring back, but Gasper shook his head. "You may keep it if you like. I don't have need for it."

Gasper turned his attention back to Flare. "That ring was made by someone who had utterly mastered the power of levitation, beyond simply being able to levitate unaided. That ring's crafter understood exactly how it was done. Paige could levitate on her own if given a few years of training, but with the ring she can do it now."

"So you think Xavius has something like that ring that lets him open time Gates," Flare said.

"Something to that effect, yes," Gasper replied. "Not necessarily a ring, but something either aiding him or giving him instructions on how to perform magic that's above his own level of skill."

"But who or what has that kind of power?" Flare asked as his frown deepened.

A look crossed Gasper's face, almost as though he had had an idea, but then he shook his head rejecting it. "I don't know, but I'm assuming that this is not the pressing issue that caused you to threaten me at sword point."

"No," Flare said shaking his head. "It's something to think on, but not why we are here. Xavius blocked his latest Gate. We can see where the Gate should originate, but it's inside a red cube shaped shield. We can't open it."

"That confirms it then," Gasper said with a nod.

"Confirms what?" Flare asked.

"That he is being aided in his use of time manipulation. If he fully understood how the Gates worked he could simply cause them not to open to anyone but himself. Imagine the time Gate as a door. If he fully understood the door he could simply lock it, but he cannot. Instead he blocks the door with a much cruder form of magic. The shield he's placed on the Gate is akin to him pushing a large boulder in front of the door."

"If the shield's so simple and crude isn't there a way for us to remove it?" Flare asked. "To push this boulder out of the way."

"Crude in comparison to the time Gate," Gasper said with a sigh. "I'm sure it would take experienced mages a while to puzzle out one of Xavius's shields. You would have to study for decades before you could break the seal he's used."

Gritting his teeth Flare's words came out almost a growl. "We don't have that kind of time, and don't tell me there's no other way."

"You can't push this boulder away. You don't have the training or the time to train. The only other thing to do is smash the boulder. Crush it into pebbles," Gasper replied calmly.

Flare shook his head, anger overcoming his voice. "Don't you think we tried that?"

"Oh, I'm sure you did," Gasper began, "but the amount of magical energy required to destroy the shield is vastly higher than what the four of you have combined. I doubt even Xavius could simply destroy a shield like that. No, what you need is something with vast magical properties."

"What kind of something?" Flare asked, "Couldn't you just come with us and remove the shield? You must have magic."

"I'm afraid that I cannot remove the shield for you," Gasper said, "but perhaps I can help in another way. Objects that have enough magical energy to destroy something as powerful as a complex sorcerer's shield are very rare, but I know of one that you might be able to get your hands on. It's a sword born in the time of Zeal, and since then it has appeared repeatedly throughout the world's history. I don't know of its exact location at any given time, but I do know that the Kingdom of Guardia had it in their possession for quite a while, in fact you've probably heard of it. Some call it the Holy Sword, or the Sword of Legend, but its true name is the _Masamune_."

Tai blinked. "You mean the sword that the heroes Cyrus and Glenn used to defeat the Fiendlord Magus during the Mystic War?"

"You're right Tai," Flare said with a glance to his friend. "That sword is called the _Masamune_, but dammit…" Flare's face crinkled in frustration. "We'll have to break into Guardia Castle to get it."

"That won't be necessary," Randall said after a moment of silence had passed.

Flare turned to Randall. "What do you mean?"

"We can return to my time, and I can get the _Masamune_," Randall told him. "I know where it currently is in my own time. We can get it without difficulty."

Gasper smiled. "Ah good, well it looks like that's one less problem to solve."

Flare turned to Gasper and said, "Thank you for your help," then back to Randall. "Lead the way, we don't have time to wait around."

Randall nodded and started off to the pillar of light that would lead back to his time. The others all thanked Gasper and turned to follow. "Flare, wait a minute if you would."

Flare looked back toward the lamppost and the old man underneath, "Yes?"

"More than a few people have found themselves lost in time, and most of those who have, I've met," Gasper said between puffs. "I've learned to get a feel for them. I don't know how to describe it properly, but it's like a feeling of importance around certain individuals, some more so than others. Some of my visitors don't fit into a bigger picture; however, some of them do. I didn't notice until a little while ago that your group has this feeling. Normally I feel it right away."

"Why would it have taken so long to get this feeling about us?" Flare asked. "What makes us different?"

"Nothing, I think," Gasper said. "I believe that it doesn't have to do with you, but rather another event that's recently taken place."

"What kind of event?"

"A group that got lost in time didn't like what they saw in the future, so they took it upon themselves to change it. Against all odds they managed to do just that."

Throughout his whole time traveling experience Flare had never thought of trying to change anything, his singular goal had been to rescue Gina from Xavius. "Is this a bad thing? Should they not have changed it?"

Gasper leaned on his cane and gave a shrug. "People have changed the future before, and I imagine will likely do so again. In fact I'm sure that you've inadvertently caused some changes yourself. Mostly it's small things that get changed, but on occasion a major change gets made. Still, the flow of time has its own way of dealing with these changes no matter how big or small. Normally, the ripples of change flow into the future and change what is to be changed, but for some confounding reason the change that they've made has caused ripples to flow backwards as well. I'm sure these abnormal disturbances are what threw my senses off."

"Backwards? In what way?" Flare said.

Exhaling a small cloud of smoke Gasper asked, "Flare, how many moons are there?"

"That's an odd question," Flare said. "There are two moons. The white and the red."

"Did you see these moons back in Wroff's time? Or in Zeal?" Gasper asked.

Flare frowned in thought. "Clouds covered the sky most of the time back during Wroff's time. I guess I only ever saw the white moon, and I don't think we were outside much during the night in Zeal."

"If again given the chance you should look," Gasper said, "or on the more short term ask Wroff how many moons there are. I believe you'll find that he'll tell you that there is only a singular moon, and that it is white, not red."

Flare arched a skeptical eyebrow. "Then where did the red moon come from? I've never heard of a time when there was only one moon."

"That is because," Gasper said, "the second moon appeared roughly thirteen thousand years prior to the year you are from. As to where it came from, I have a theory, but all that really matters is that a change in the future caused an entire moon to appear in the sky fourteen thousand years before the change ever occurred."

"Are these backwards ripples somehow going to affect us?" Flare asked the worry clear in his voice.

Gasper took a moment before responding. "Not in any way you should worry about, the weave that surrounds the others I mentioned seems to be a dominant one, even compared to your own, that is to say, I don't believe anything you do will affect it one way or another, and any changes to your own weave have been made without your knowing, but that is not my point. My point is that this quest you're on is more important than the two of us previously believed. Keep that in mind, and good luck."

Flare nodded, still confused about most that he had just been told, but in truth it mattered little to him at that moment. At that moment he knew that in order to stop Xavius he had to go with Randall and get the _Masamune_. That was all that mattered right then.

Gasper watched the five step into a pillar of light and one by one vanish, returning to the normal flow of time. Those five were more important to the flow of time than they knew. Gasper hadn't told Flare half of what he felt. Something more important than the lives of a few girls was riding on them. Of course, Gasper knew that to Flare it didn't matter. Nothing was more important to him than saving the girl he loved.

"What are you up to, Xavius? What is your endgame?" Gasper muttered to himself. With a sigh he looked down at his pipe, which had again gone out.


	21. The Sword of Legend

**Chapter 21: The Sword of Legend**

Flare landed nimbly on the large oak table that stood in the central room of Fort Ratcleff, almost smiling at how much he had gotten used to traveling through the Gates. Standing next to him Tai shared his thoughts. "Remember last time we came out of this gate? Weren't you so dizzy you threw up?"

"I think _I'm_ going to throw up," Paige said from where she stood bellow, "and being dizzy has nothing to do with it."

Tai almost asked what she meant, but as he opened his mouth he saw the piles of decomposing corpses that littered the room. Worse than the grizzly sight was the foul odor that accompanied the lifeless bodies. Pinching his nose between two fingers Tai made a disgusted noise inside his throat. "I don't remember it smelling _this _bad before."

"I think they've begun rotting faster, now that they're not being 'preserved' anymore," Flare said as he stepped down from the table. "Now they're just run of the mill corpses, decomposing normally. They smell bad, but at least they won't try to kill us this time."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked as the group hastily left the room and began making their way through the fortress.

"Last time they were zombies," Tai stated matter-of-factly.

Paige's eyebrows rose in a combination of surprise and skepticism. Wroff grunted as he too held his nose with an oversized hand. "What zombies?" he asked.

"Dead bodies that can move around," Paige said as she continued to look at Tai. "Are you being serious?"

"He is," Flare said. "When we came back before, this entire island, and the fortress especially, were, possessed, is the best way I can think to describe it. Some of the wounds you see on these bodies were probably inflected by me and Tai defending ourselves against them."

"We fight zombies now?" Wroff asked as he uncertainly watched the sprawled dead as they passed.

"No," Flare said. "The last time we were here we...dealt with it." He repressed a shudder at the memory of the black heart that had given the zombie's their...life, though, life wasn't a good word for it, he couldn't think of another.

They each breathed easier, and deeper, once they had made their way outside. After a few minutes of breathing fresh air the smell of the deceased became little more than a memory. "We'll have to wait for a ship to pick us up," Flare said as they reached the shore, "but coming this way still saved us weeks that we would have had to spend traveling if we had come through the Denadoro gate. Besides we can use our magic to signal for any passing ships."

He raised his arm into the air and sent a small ball of fire skyward; it exploded with a bang and a flash that could have been heard and seen a distance off into the sea. Every couple of minutes they launched another signal into the air, switching between fireballs from Flare and Paige, and bright cracks of lightning from Randall. It wasn't long before a ship approached the shore.

"I wish we could have done that last time. We waited for hours before, and even then we just got lucky that the _Sea_-," Tai cut off as he stared at the approaching vessel. "It's the _Sea Salamander_, I'm an imp if this isn't a weird coincidence."

"What's a sea salamander?" Paige asked.

"Look." Flare pointed to the words painted across the hull of the ship. "_Sea Salamander_ is the name of that boat. It's the same one that picked me and Tai up from this island the last time we were here."

As it had the last time, a small raft was lowered off the side of the boat with two men in it. Before the boat reached the shore Flare and Tai recognized the men. "Everyone, this is Captain Sid Damascus Korin and his first mate Swimley," Flare introduced the two men as they stepped out of the small craft.

The captain was only momentarily surprised by the recognition. Once he got past looking at Flare's outrageously spiked hair and onto his face he recognized the young man who he had recovered from the very same island only weeks earlier. "If it don't be Flare and Tai, the Choras boys, back on this godforsaken isle once again. This time ye brought friends."

Flare almost asked what he had meant by 'Choras boys' before remembering the lie they had used to cover their extraordinary origins. "Yeah, we managed to get stuck here again. I don't suppose you'd mind getting us back to Truce?"

"We'll pay," Randall said. "I've got gold to cover our passage."

"Won't be necessary." Sid turned to Randall. "Truce only be a short distance, it not be worth takin' yer coin over." Even as he finished his sentence recognition bloomed over his bearded face. "Why you be Randall! Knight of the Square Table!"

Randall shook his head. "I cannot claim the honor of that title any longer."

Sid's face turned serious as he spoke, "I do hope I don't be steppin' over me bounds, but the Kingdom could surely use ye back in her service. With the war takin' a turn fer the worse an all."

"How so?" Randall said with a frown. "Last I was aware we were at a stalemate. What has changed?"

"Ye mean to tell me that ye not be knowing?" Sid spoke as though he had to explain that water was wet, or that blades were sharp. "The mystics do have a new leader, or rather, he is said to have always been leadin' them, but now he's shown himself. His name be Magus though the mystics have taken to callin' him the Fiendlord, and rumors be that he's a powerful sorcerer. It be said he single handedly wiped out an entire company of royal knights."

Randall turned to Flare. "Could it could be Xavius using a different name?"

"No." Flare shook his head. "Magus is a different sorcerer."

"That be right," Sid said with a sudden frown. "The two of ye mentioned somethin' about a Magus leadin' the mystics before. I thought ye were just ignorant from the lack of news ye be gettin' in Choras, but now I see that ye be right. How be it that ye knew about Magus before anyone else?"

At an earlier time a question like this would have flustered Flare, but after having coming so far it hardly seemed important to try keeping a low profile or to have realistic cover stories. Without hesitating he told the man a version of the truth. "We're hunting a sorcerer ourselves, so knowing about sorcerers is a great aid in our line of work."

"Ye hunt sorcerers?" Sid said skeptically.

"It's true," Randall said. "The sorcerer they hunt is named Xavius, and he has allied himself with the man who killed my brother."

"I see." A look of understanding passed over the captain's face. "That be why ye're always comin' to places like this damned isle."

Flare offered a nod.

"It will take two trips to haul the lot of ye to the _Sea Salamander,_" the captain said, returning to the business of getting them off the isle.

Flare stepped into the small boat alongside Tai and Paige. "Will be back for ye in a moment," Sid said to Randall and Wroff as he and Swimley began oaring away from the shore. "Say Flare. What be the flashes in the sky? That be what we came to investigate when we found ye lot."

"Fireworks," answered Flare. "We were setting off fireworks."

Sid looked a bit skeptical for a moment, but ended up accepting the explanation with a shrug. Who was he to question a group of sorcerer hunters?

* * *

Rosewood Cemetery had been located on the outskirts of Truce for hundreds of years. As long as there had been the city, there had been the cemetery. It wasn't the only cemetery in Truce, but it was one of the oldest and largest. It was also the only cemetery reserved specifically for those who had served in Guardia's military.

Flare was appalled to see how many of the graves were fresh. The cemetery had grown considerably in only the short amount of time that this most recent war had been fought. What was more appalling still was how much larger the cemetery was in his own time. Although it was true that any cemetery would increase in size over the span of nearly five centuries, what Flare was noticing was the section reserved for those who had died during the Mystic War. If the people thought the war had been costly before, they had no idea how much more costly it would be now that Magus had taken an active role.

Randall seemed to read Flare's thoughts, though reading his face was probably closer to the truth. "How many more die before the war ends?"

"A lot," Flare said intending to leave it at that. Randall nodded grimly, not happy but unsurprised to hear the news.

Among the graves that had been filled during the past few years of the war a few stood out. These were marked by tombstones made of fine marble as opposed to common stone, and each was marked not only with Guardia's royal crest but also with a second less common symbol: The Mark of the Square Table. A pair of swords crossed within a perfect square. This simple symbol was the mark of Guardia's most elite knights. The ones who more often than not, had songs sung about them in taverns. The ones who became legendary among legends.

The grave they stopped in front of was distinguished even among these. A sword was embedded within its tombstone, the sunlight glinting from its polished blade. It was a simply made broadsword of the style most Guardians preferred. Even though nothing about its design was elaborate, the sword was as well made as any Flare had seen.

"Randall, is this it? The Masamune?" Flare was surprised to find the sword in such an unprotected and unhidden spot.

"Yes," Randall said. "This is my brother Richard's grave. He was the last wielder of the Masamune."

"But why hasn't the sword been given to somebody else?" Tai asked. "If the kingdom was at peace I could understand enshrining it, but with the war getting worse shouldn't someone else be using it? Not to mention the safety of leaving it alone out here. Not everyone respects the dead. Somebody could easily bust it out of the tombstone. I'm sure there are lots of people who'd steal the Masamune if given half a chance."

Randall gave a slight shake of his head as he untied a leather pouch that hung off his belt. "It's in no danger of being stolen. The Masamune can only be wielded by the one who wears the Hero Medal, and it is not as simple as just giving the sword to another. Even with the Hero Medal the sword can reject you. It has been the tradition of Guardia that His Majesty the King determines who is worthy of the sword. If the king believes that none of his knights are worthy of the Masamune then no one shall wield it."

"I take it King Guardia hasn't chosen a successor for the sword then?" Flare said with a frown. "If not, how are we going to take it?"

"The king chose a successor the day my brother died."

"Who?" Flare asked.

"Me." Randall pulled a golden disc from his leather pouch; the medallion hung on a simple leather cord. "His Majesty chose me to wield the sword in the name of Guardia. When I refused, telling him of my intentions of hunting down, Kyui Wara he did not recant his choice. Even though I forsook my duty as a Knight of Guardia; the Masamune is mine by right."

"So instead of using it in your personal quest for vengeance you chose to enshrine your brother's grave," Flare said.

"Not exactly," Randall responded. "If I believed that the Masamune could have helped me achieve my vengeance I would have taken it without hesitation. Killing one such as Kyui Wara would not tarnish the blade, but my sin is not _wanting to avenge_ my brother's murder. My sin is forsaking the Kingdom I swore to serve and protect to do so. I don't believe the Masamune would have aided me in a quest I put before the good of the Kingdom. To help you find Xavius; however, is a separate matter. This is a quest I believe worthy of the _Masamune_."

Randall hung the Hero Medal from his neck, tucking the medallion underneath his shirt and leather armor. He reached out and grabbed the legendary sword in both hands. Flare's breath caught in his throat. The sudden thought of the _Masamune_ rejecting Randall as its wielder chilled him to the core. The fear evaporated as the sword easily slid out of the tombstone it had been sheathed in.

"Come," Randall said. "The _Masamune_'s scabbard is in the house I used to call home. It's not too far out of the way as we head back to the docks."

Following Randall, wielder of the legendary _Masamune_, they left the cemetery. At the docks the _Sea Salamander_ awaited their return, so it could ferry them back to Isle Ratcleff, and in essence, to the Gate that would lead to Xavius.


	22. The King's Wizard

**Chapter 22: The King's Wizard**

Flare's first feeling upon waking was relief that he had been able to sleep. When they had finally returned to the empty mansion that had once been Xavius's home and now hosted the sealed off Gate, night had long since fallen. A part of Flare had strongly wanted to press onward even though they all had reached the point of exhaustion. Resisting this urge had been difficult, but in the end discipline had won out. If Xavius was on the other side of that Gate it wouldn't do them any good to face him exhausted.

Before they retired for the night it was decided that everyone would feel safer if one of them was awake to keep watch at all times. Even though a quick search of the mansion had revealed nothing to concern them, they _were_ in a residence belonging to Xavius. Randall and Wroff had volunteered for two of the three middle watches. Being on watch in the middle was hardest because it split your sleep in two. Tai insisted on being the third one to take a middle watch, for that Flare was silently thankful, though he never had complained, he especially disliked the middle watch. Flare had taken first watch and given Paige the last watch.

The group was silent in the predawn morning as they gathered their gear and ate a cold hasty breakfast. Flare had gotten used to the disorienting dizziness of the time Gates, but entering a Gate that led into the unknown still filled him with apprehension. "You ready?" Tai asked.

Flare looked up as he was brought out of his thoughts. "Yeah, let's do this."

The _Masamune_ rang as Randall drew it from its scabbard. Flare's _Crimson Eon _and Tai's _Azure Wind _were both masterwork swords to be sure, but even without feeling the tingle of magic emitting from the _Masamune_ it both looked and felt superior. That style of broadsword wasn't what Flare had been trained with, but even so, it was impossible not to be impressed with the undeniable quality of the blade.

Randall stepped in front of the Gate and raised the legendary sword above his head. If the _Masamune_ couldn't break the softly glowing cube that barred their way, then this could be the end of the road. Flare's breath caught in his throat as Randall swung the sword down. With a swish the blade passed through barrier. "Did it…work?" Tai asked uncertainly.

A moment later the transparent box grew smoky and began losing its form. "I think so," Flare said, "though it's not nearly as climatic as I thought it would be." The smoke had vanished before his sentence finished.

"There's no time like the present, at least that's what my dad always says." Paige dropped the butt of her morning cigarette onto Xavius's plush carpet and stomped it out.

* * *

"Surprisingly pleasant," Tai observed as he took in their new surroundings. The trees weren't near dense enough to be called a forest, but were numerous enough to provide shade on what felt like a hot midsummer day.

"At least we're not in Zeal anymore." Flare could no longer feel the perennial buzz of magic that the magical kingdom radiated. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on the feeling of magic. The talent had naturally come to Randall, but Flare struggled to feel even the magic of the people standing next to him. When he opened his eyes Randall was pointing in a northern direction. Flare shook his head. "Color me impressed."

Randall nodded in recognition of the compliment. "If anything our time in Zeal has sharpened my senses even further. Without any of the background..._noise_ if you will, everything is clearer, everything is easier to feel. I'll be able to follow the trail even with the rest of you nearby, so there's no reason for me to walk ahead this time."

"Lead the way." Flare said. Randall nodded and started in the direction he had been pointing.

"Flare, _when_ do you think this is?" Tai asked.

Flare rested a hand on the hilt of his sword as he scanned the surrounding trees. "I couldn't say. The trees and the lay of the land remind me of Guardia, but the only thing I can tell about the time is that it's not an ice age, which doesn't narrow it down much."

"I wonder if he's here to kidnap another girl," Paige said.

Tai frowned as he followed Flare's example and scanned their peripherals. "I wonder _why_ he's been kidnapping random girls in the first place."

"I don't think his actions are random. He's got a goal, and I can't shake the feeling he's coming close to achieving whatever it is – is that smoke?" Flare's grip tightened reflexively on his sword's hilt as his gaze shifted from the surrounding trees to the sky ahead. "Look. Just over that hill. Smoke."

Randall drew the _Masamune_ and quickened his step. "Something is burning just ahead, and there is magic there too. Xavius _has _been there."

Flare and Tai drew their swords; Paige took her pistol from its holster and flicked the safety off. "This could be it," Tai said. Flare nodded but didn't take his eyes off the pillar of smoke. The group altered their course slightly to the right as they reached the hilltop, taking cover behind a thick patch of trees.

Bellow was a clearing that was empty save for a small stream and the charred remains of what might have been a small wooden house. Several craters dotted the ground and parts of the clearing were scarred with long scorch marks. Flare frowned, even without Randall's keen senses he could tell that magic had been involved in the destruction. "Xavius and the others aren't down there. Do you think he destroyed the cabin and moved on?"

"No," Randall said in a low voice, "this is as far as Xavius traveled. He must have doubled back from here and returned to the Gate. If I'd have paid attention to the physical trail too, I might have noticed it earlier."

"But it was sealed on the other end," Paige said. "He couldn't have taken it back to Zeal if he wanted too."

"Maybe he could have," Tai replied, "It's possible that the barrier he placed on the Gate in Zeal could break if the Gate opened from the other side, maybe he returned to Zeal and then resealed the barrier."

"I don't think so," Flare said.

"Why not?" Tai asked.

"He didn't know that we'd find the Gate in his mansion, leave it to get the _Masamune_, and then return." Flare wiped the sweat from his forehead. "For all he knew we'd hang around outside that Gate and hope he'd return through it. I think that there's only two possible scenarios for what he did."

"What?" Tai and Paige asked.

"Scenario one: Xavius came here and doubled back, leaving through the same Gate. It probably took them to the end of time where he could step straight into a different Gate. As long as he didn't make a point of saying hi, Gasper might not have known who they were. Just that they were more 'visitors' drifting by.

"Scenario two: Xavius came here and made a new Gate down there. If that's the case we'll find it when we go down. The point is – either way – that he came here for a reason. He came here and got something, or someone, and then left."

"There's someone down there," Randall said.

"Where?" Flare asked. "I don't see anyone."

"They're being obscured by the smoke." Randall pointed to a space just in front of the smoldering rubble. When the slight breeze shifted again Flare saw what Randall was pointing at; the silhouette of a person with their arms spread out, seeming to float above the ground. "Whoever it is, is still alive. I can feel their magic."

"Magic?" Flare repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, the person down there is a magic user, and its possible they may be able to tell us what Xavius was doing here, but we should hurry, breathing smoke can kill a man. If the wind keeps blowing the smoke right onto him he'll suffocate." Randall stood and started down the hill, followed by the others.

When they reached the destroyed cabin the wind had shifted enough to reveal the man completely. He was an old man, whose white hair looked as though it had not had any color for many years, although, his long beard that fell to his waist was blackened and scorched. The simple gray robe that he had on was torn and covered in soot. He was bound with shackles not made from steel, but from something that glowed red and was transparent enough to expose his bony wrists. The magical shackles kept him floating a good foot above the charred ground.

"Xavius had to have done this," Flare said. "Look at his wrists. Those restraints are made from the same energy as the barrier that was on the Gate."

"Then I can cut him down." Randall stepped up to the floating man. "Wroff could you hold him?" The caveman reached up and took the old man under his arms as Randall cut through first one shackle and then the other. Like the barrier that had blocked the Gate, they evaporated as soon as the _Masamune_ made contact. Once his arms hung limply at his sides Wroff gingerly carried the much smaller man to patch of unburned grass and laid him down.

The old man opened his eyes and saw the strangers surrounding him. When he opened his mouth to speak he instead broke into a fit of coughing. "Take it easy, old man," Randall said. "We're not here to hurt you."

After a moment the old man's coughing subsided and Randall handed him his canteen. After taking a deep drink his eyes fell on the _Masamune_. "Why do you have the King's sword?" His voice was scratchy from the smoke and full of confusion. Before Randall could reply to the question the old man's eyes landed on Paige and grew large with surprise. "You can't be here…_he _has you!" Again surprise filled his face as he saw Flare and then Tai. "It's you! You're Flare aren't you?"

Now it was Flare's turn to be surprised. "How do you know who I am?"

"Yes, yes…now I see," the old man said as he sat up. "Yes, I know you. You are Flare and you are Tai." Tai blinked in surprise as the man continued. "And you're not Penelope at all are you? No, you're Paige, the twin." He paused for another drink from the canteen as he looked at both Wroff and Randall. "I'm afraid I don't know either of you, but seeing as whom your current company is I'll assume that you're both time travelers as well. Which explains why you have the King's sword, in your time it might very well be your sword."

"How do you know me and my sister?" Paige asked when the old man's coughing brought a pause to his torrent of words.

The old man shook his head and laughed darkly. "After all my careful planning and clever magical tricks, it turns out that my last minute caution is what might still save us all. Nothing fancy at all, just faith in good people to pull through. I suppose you'll want to hear it all won't you? Of course you will, but first you should tell me what you already know."

"I'm not sure if we know much of anything," Flare said truthfully. "A wizard named Xavius kidnapped someone very important to me, a girl named Gina. We know he's taken at least two other girls, one is Paige's sister Penny, who you seem to know. The other is actually the sister of a man named Kyui Wara and they're apparently going with Xavius of their own free will. We know that Xavius is the Prince of the Magical Kingdom of Zeal, that he's used forbidden magic, and that we have to stop him in order to save Gina and Penny. That's basically everything we know."

The old man nodded. "You've been sailing blind this whole time. Not fully aware of what you were up against, or even what was at stake."

"And what is at stake, besides our friend's lives?" Flare asked.

The old man sighed deeply. "Nineteen years ago. Nathan was just my friend, and my wife Ellysia was still alive. There was war, and for a while it looked like the Modilla would crush us all. But the clans united, and between Nathan's leadership, my magic, and a generous dose of luck we managed to survive. In doing so a kingdom was formed. Nathan Guardia once the leader of a rather small clan, became King Guardia, ruler of most of Zenan. I, Veemoli, earned the title King's Wizard…it's a post that won't be around long. Wizards are rare…and now I know that within the next century there will be none, or at least none with enough power to actually be considered a full wizard.

"Ellysia died, and I was left not only with my responsibilities to my King and Kingdom, but also with the responsibility of a baby girl, my daughter Cassandra. I was more than old enough to be a grandfather, yet I was so unsure of how to be a father. It was then it happened. You know that I'm a wizard, and to an extent you understand what that means, but have you ever heard of a Dreamer?"

Flare shook his head. "No, at least not in any significant sense."

"I thought not," Veemoli said. "There have been wizards who were born not only with magic, but with other gifts. These types of wizards are even rarer than the already rare common wizard, and as such have been almost non-existent since the fall of the Magic Kingdom. Dreamers were like that. Wizards with an extra gift. They could enter the dreams of others, give people dreams, but most importantly they could dream the dreams of other wizards from throughout the ages. Most dreams are nothing, not prophecy, not some hidden reality…just your mind playing games while the body sleeps, but some dreams are magic. And magic dreams flow through time as easily as fish swim in the sea. A Dreamer from ten thousand years ago might learn magic from a dream dreamt by a wizard far in the future.

"Among the Dreamers there have been a few who were called Radical Dreamers. A Radical Dreamer is to a Dreamer what a sword master is to a swordsman. They have even greater control of dreams, and can choose what dreams to be sent out into the flow of time, and which ones not to send. I am a Dreamer, not only that, but I believe myself to be a Radical Dreamer, the last of my kind I'm sure. My ability to dream up new ways to use magic saved us more that once while we fought the Modilla. Even if their wizards were not as skilled as I, there were three of them and only one of me.

"But then I had a dream unlike anything I had ever experienced. In this dream I could not move, could not see anything past a blinding white light, could not control the dream in any way. It was terrifying. I felt the presence of something, a thing of awesome power, then an object was pressed into my hand. When I awoke it was still there. This is the only time I have ever brought something out of a dream. I believe it was the only time _anyone _has brought anything out of a dream. I was able to bring it out of the dream because it was not truly a physical object, no it wasn't physical, it was magical. To look at, it appeared to be a rainbow tinted glass rod only a little over a hand long, but when I held it in my hands I knew the truth of it, the truth of how horrible a thing it was."

"Horrible? How so?" Flare asked as Veemoli paused for another drink.

Tai said, "What could have overpowered you in a dream? From what you've said Radical Dreamers should be all powerful inside of dreams."

"At first I couldn't spare it much thought," Veemoli said to Tai. "Since that time my only theory has come from a book of incredibly ancient origin. The language it was written in no longer exists, and I've only been able to translate a little of it with what I've learned through my dreams. The book is titled _The Origin of Magic _and as far as I can tell it is exactly what it's name implies. A set of theories from the people of the Magic Kingdom, on what the true origin of magic was. More interesting is the fact that it was an apparently sentient or semi-sentient being that they referred to as Lavos, a word from a language more ancient still."

"In Old Words Lavos means 'big fire'," Wroff said.

"Old Words? What Old Words?" Veemoli asked curiously.

"This guy's from a time _before _the origin of magic, so if he says the words are old they probably are," Tai said.

Veemoli sat the water canteen down. "Well, whether or not Lavos is the origin of magic, or if it even was the origin of magic that gave me that rainbow colored rod I don't know, but I do know that that little rod is the cause of all your troubles Flare. It is that which this Xavius seeks. Just by having physical contact with it gave me knowledge beyond my wildest dreams. I understood how time flowed, and I understood how to create Gates to travel through it. Without that rod I couldn't fathom the complexities of creating Gates, but with it I could just as easily jump a thousand years into the future as I could light a candle, but what chilled me to the bone was the other knowledge it imparted. The rod was really a _Key_…its true purpose was to unlock a Gate that would lead beyond the End of Time, and once one was beyond everything that existed they would attain complete mastery over time itself. They would step out of the limitations of the third dimension and be reborn into the fourth dimension. In effect becoming a god of time.

"Why it was given to me I don't know. As certain as I was of this, while I had the _Key_, I was also certain that it would work for anyone _except _myself. I don't know why it wouldn't work for me, but I _knew_ it as surely as I know the sky is blue and that fire burns. I also knew that all the knowledge given to me by the _key_ would get picked up by other Dreamers. They would know what kind of power the _key_ could give them and they would use the knowledge of how to make time Gates and come for it."

"But that's not how it happened is it?" Flare said.

"No, it is not." Veemoli smiled. "I decided that I couldn't risk the _Key_ falling into the wrong hands. First I solved the problem of sending the dream messages out. My idea was actually inspired by a trick Nathan used during the war. He created a complex code that every message was to be sent out in. No code like it had ever been used as far as I know. Even though I couldn't stop this dream from going out I was able to code it. My hope was to trick any Dreamer into thinking it was nonsense being dreamt by a wizard gone mad. Once that was done, I had the time I needed to study the _Key_. I couldn't destroy it, or I would have, but I did figure out a way to separate it into quarters. Each quarter corresponded to one of the four elements of magic: fire, water, light and shadow. My plan was to hide each _key_ in a separate time era. There was a problem; however, the four elemental _keys _always found each other and became whole. Time was not a boundary to them, but I solved this problem too.

"I discovered a method of fusing the elemental _keys_ to the human soul. There were limitations of course. I could only fuse them to female souls, and then only to a soul that was the same corresponding element. I knew that the whereabouts of the fragmented _Key of Time_, the _Chrono Key_, would be sent out in my dreams, so when it was done I coded them like I had coded the other dreams. I even discovered a Dream source from a time before magic. A species that while without magic had an ability much like Dreamers. I was able to send the location of one of the _Key_ fragments there, where I thought nobody would find it. I had hoped that I had done a good enough job encrypting my dreams so that nobody could ever connect all the dots. Separating the _key_ fragments had a secondary purpose besides hiding them, even if their locations were discovered the strain of creating enough Gates to get to them should destroy the human body, but even with all these layers of precautions I carefully chose where I hid the _keys_. My last line of defense was to ensure the girls who would host the _Key_ fragments had apt guardians.

"The _Key of Water_ I hid inside a girl named Riiza. I chose her because she had a brother who was one of the deadliest men I've ever seen, and because while he was as cold of a killer as there ever was, he was strongly devoted to his little sister. Sadly, it seems like I made a miscalculation with him. They've, like you said, joined with Xavius freely.

"The _Key of Light_ I put inside Gina. I chose her because no matter how her life was fated to turn out she always had both you Flare, and you Tai, with her. Both of you were always destined to become great swordsmen, and Flare, you and her always fell in love. This time I must say I made a rather good choice. All my other plans have failed, except that you refused to give up."

"Why did you choose my sister then?" Paige asked. "I can understand your first two choices, but why Penny?"

"Do you know what your father does, Paige?" Veemoli said curiously.

Paige shrugged. "He works at a bank."

Veemoli smiled. "And all bankers know how to use guns?"

"No," Paige said, "but lots of people own a gun. You could have chosen any number of girls from families that had guns."

"Paige," Veemoli said, "your father works for the Guardian Government. The bank job is just a cover to keep his real job a secret and his family safe. Your father is every bit as deadly as Flare, Tai, or even Kyui Wara. What is more, is that he taught both of his daughters how to handle weapons and defend themselves."

Paige worked her jaw as she struggled to make words. "You mean my dad is a…secret agent?"

"And a good one at that. Unfortunately, our enemy Xavius got around all those defenses. He even altered his body using forbidden magic that I've only the vaguest ideas about, allowing his body to withstand the stress of creating multiple Gates. Now he has each of those girls." Veemoli ran his bony fingers through his dirty and burnt beard. "At least you managed to follow Flare…how _did _you manage to follow?"

"The man who trained us with our swords, Refla, had a time stone. With it we can open any pre-existing Gates, even the ones Xavius makes." Flare pulled the small blue stone from around his neck and held it out.

Veemoli frowned curiously at the stone. "Well isn't that a happy coincidence. No matter, at this point I'll take what I can get."

"The last girl was your daughter, Cassandra, wasn't she," Randall said. "You put the last fragment of the _Key_ in your own daughter so you could personally guard it."

"That is correct. I put the _Key of Shadow_ inside of my dear Cassandra." Veemoli stroked his beard as his eyes glazed over with regret. "And I failed. Failed to protect my own daughter…failed at everything."

"He's not a god yet," Flare said. "If he's left this era and has the entire _Key_ why aren't we being tortured for daring to resist him?"

"Oh?" Veemoli said looking up. "That's simple. Time doesn't flow exactly linearly like most people think. True the past flows into the future, but it's a bit more complex than that. Certain people are connected. Even if they live thousands of years apart they are drifting through time in the same frame. I'm sure that we are all connected to Xavius via fate. If we are on the same frame as him that means that if it takes him a month to extract the _keys_ and become a god, then you and I have a month until it happens, despite when in the history of the world we are, or Xavius is."

"How much time do we have?" Flare asked.

Veemoli frowned. "Not a month I'm afraid. The truth is we might only have hours, but I believe with luck you might be able to reach him in time. You see…I know where he is."

"Really?" Flare said, "How? Where?"

"The _Elemental Keys _can only be extracted from the girls in the place that I fragmented the Key, and that is here." Veemoli pointed at a patch of dirt and within seconds a perfect map of Guardia etched itself out of the earth. "See this little island, just off the eastern coast. That island is in a unique spot. Something about it makes the whole island sensitive to magic. That is where I fragmented the _Key_."

Tai groaned as he looked at the dirt map. "Not there again."

"You know this island?" Veemoli asked.

"We've been there," Flare answered. "In our time it's called Isle Ratcleff."

"That is _where _he'll be, but I don't know _when _he'll be," Veemoli said. "I'd go with you if I could, but in my current condition I can barely walk, and magically, I'm exhausted."

"It's fine, we'll go," Flare said as he stood. "But first tell me what will happen to Gina and the others if he removes the _Key_ fragments."

"Physically and mentally they will be fine, but once the _keys _are removed they will forever lose the ability to use magic. Of course for any of them to use magic they'd first need to find someone capable of unlocking their latent powers and no one like that has been around since the Magic Kingdom destroyed itself," Veemoli said as he once again fell into a fit of coughing.

Flare shared a look with the others. "We don't have much time," he said. "We go now, prepare for battle."


	23. Duel of the Two Masters

**Chapter 23: Duel of the Two Masters**

Refla woke to find his bedding soaked through. Slowly he climbed out of his bed and to his feet. His fever must have broken in the night, and with the fever gone his appetite had at last returned. A loud growl from his stomach drove him to dress with haste, and his walk was only slightly unsteady as he made his way to the kitchen. The aroma had caught his nose while he still lie in bed, it was probably what had woken him. Refla's body was craving rest only slightly less than it was food.

The out of season fever had come to Truce a week past; Refla falling victim to it early on. His recovery on this day was as big of a coincidence as he had ever seen. Fate playing a trick on an old man. An old man's choice being made for him.

Refla grunted. He didn't like the thought that his destiny might be outside of his own hands, but his own path had been set for years, no amount of denying it would change the fact. Well enough that fate had stepped in; he supposed, knowing what you had to do and doing it were two separate matters entirely, especially when you didn't like what had to happen.

His lips formed a slight smile in spite of his dark thoughts when he saw his wife. Shara sat at the table eating the breakfast she had made in an almost mechanical manner, her blonde hair held back in a simple braid. She looked up at him as he sat across from her. "It's today isn't it?" Refla nodded as he ravenously attacked the plate of food that had been prepared for him. "When your fever broke in the night, I knew."

Finishing the plate Refla noticed his katana leaning against the wall near the door. Both the hilt and the scabbard were wrapped in thick cloth that had faded gray with time. Shara must have put it there knowing he'd need it today. Shara also had placed a short spear next to it; both shaft and point of the spear were plain, but it was deadly nonetheless, when Shara herself wielded it, especially so. Refla frowned. "I have to go alone, you know that," he said, forgoing his assumed accent, as he only could around his wife.

Shara returned the frown. "I know it, but I don't like it."

"And I like it less than you do, I'm sure," Refla said.

"It might not change anything if I come," she protested.

"But then again, it might change everything," Refla said with a frown as he strapped his katana and scabbard on around his waist. "I don't know what it is exactly I'm to do, but I do know that I must do it alone, and I know what must happen today."

Shara's frown softened as she left the table to embrace her husband in a hug. "I know too. Please, be careful and come back to me."

"I've no intention of dying today," Refla whispered. "I love you. You know that right?"

"I do."

* * *

The colors had grown in intensity. Xavius sat in the center of the square he had drawn. The four girls lay unconscious, each at one of the square's corners. Despite the complexity of the symbols within the square Xavius had drawn them with uncanny speed, speed born from memorization. Kyui Wara was certain that that level of memorization was itself born from obsession. This ceremony was the final step in achieving the goal Xavius so feverishly pursued. Kyui Wara mused that the square and the symbols contained within was likely what Xavius saw whenever he closed his eyes. Now what had undoubtedly played out within the sorcerer's mind's eye countless times before, was happening in reality. The thought chilled Kyui Wara to the core.

The girls had begun to glow within a few hours of starting the ceremony. Gina, the girl Xavius had already captured before they had first met was positioned directly behind the sorcerer and was shining with a pure white light. To Xavius's left the blonde girl from the future was glowing an angry red, in front of Xavius the girl they had just captured seemed to draw light into her own body, creating a spot of deep set shadow that contrasted sharply with the other three points of the square. And to Xavius's right lay Riiza. Kyui Wara's sister shimmered with a blue radiance, that while softer than the other lights was no less intense.

Each light had been faint at first, until the sun had set Kyui Wara was unsure if he had been imagining them or not, but hour by hour through the night the colors grew brighter. By time the sun had risen again they were clearly visible in daytime light, and now the brightness had grown to an almost painful level. That however, was not why the assassin was leaning against the cracked and weathered stone wall of the fort for which the small island got its name. He hadn't chosen to position himself so far away from Xavius's ceremony because of the light, no matter how bright it had become. He kept himself distanced to keep himself in check, to lessen the temptation to kill the sorcerer. In the ceremony's first hour he had nearly come to killing Xavius, one scimitar placed a hair's breadth away from his neck, the other against his chest, over his heart. Two killing blows. Two killing blows executed at precisely the same time surely would have killed the man, sorcerer or no.

He was completely helpless for the duration of the ceremony. He had told Kyui Wara this himself. The ceremony would last for more than a day, during which he would be as helpless as a babe, unable even, to cut the ceremony short if the need arose. But if he died, they died. That was the catch. If Xavius died during this ceremony the girls would die with him. At least this was his claim. Kyui Wara did not trust the sorcerer, and felt nearly certain this had been a bluff. A bluff to ensure that Kyui Wara acted as a guard dog for him until the ceremony's completion. Bluff or not the assassin had been unable to make himself kill. He could not risk killing Riiza. He would play the role of guard dog.

A flicker of movement to his right caught the assassin's attention. Squinting, he made out the form of a lone man. A lone man on an island that was supposed to be deserted, an island where people rarely, if ever, visited. Kyui Wara's hands slid into position over the hilts of his twin scimitars. It was too much of a coincidence. The man wasn't there by happenstance. He was there for Xavius. Kyui Wara growled under his breath as he left his position by the wall to intercept the approaching man.

Damn Xavius! But he _would_ play the role of guard dog.

The man stood a few inches taller than Kyui Wara himself did, and judging by his clothes he was from the current time period, four hundred years into the future from Kyui Wara's own time. His head and face were shaved clean, and the man's missing eyebrows and perpetual scowl gave his face a fierce look that when coupled with the slender curved katana at his side would have been sufficient in scaring off smalltime threats, punks looking for trouble. Kyui Wara was no punk, instead of noticing the man's hairless brow or fierce demeanor, he noticed the way that he walked, with far more grace and control than most men did. Like a cat stalking its prey, or perhaps a hawk catching the wind underneath its wings. Coupled with the sword at his side, the way he moved gave Kyui Wara pause. Gently loosening his scimitars within their scabbards the assassin said, "I think you've made a mistake in coming here. You should leave."

The bald man grinned. "Ye're the one who's makin' a mistake, boy. I'm here to kill that snake yer protectin' back there. Move from me way, or ye'll end up just as dead. Killin' two snakes is no differen' than killin' one, but seein' as I've not the time I'll give ye a pass. If ye move from me way."

Kyui Wara frowned thoughtfully. The man spoke in absolute confidence, not the arrogance of a man who assumes they can defeat their opponent simply because they have an advantage in size or the experience of age, but confidence born from knowing their own ability. If Kyui Wara had a read of the man's skill from the way he moved then surly the bald man had a read of Kyui Wara's own. Still it seemed that this man only had flesh and steel to bare against him, if the man could use magic then Kyui Wara would already be dead or disabled. Steel he could handle.

Without replying Kyui Wara made a quick leap forward, drawing a scimitar and slashing with one fluid motion of his left hand. Despite not having taken any stance, defensive or otherwise, and not even having had a hand ready on his katana, the bald man drew his weapon and parried the strike easily. He was confident, but perhaps overly so. The assassin's left handed attack was followed by series of quick strikes with the scimitar in his right, but the bald man blocked these with as much ease as he had the first. Bouncing back lightly Kyui Wara dodged a lightning quick counterstroke, then moved forward again unleashing a full routine of overhand and underhand attacks. The same routine delivered with the same speed would have driven a swordsman of even Randall's skill into a desperate defense, especially if they were unused to fighting an opponent that used two weapons simultaneously; however, the bald man matched him stroke for stroke. The assassin found himself parrying as much as striking out offensively.

The two warriors disengaged, each circling the other. Kyui Wara considered his opponent during the brief laps of combat. By using the extra force added by using two hands on his katana the bald man was able to knock back Kyui Wara's scimitars further back than normal every time their blades struck. With expert timing even the bald man's parries carried extra force. In effect Kyui Wara's advantage of fighting with duel swords was neutralized.

Kyui Wara smiled to himself. It truly had been a long time since he had fought someone at this level. Losing a fight meant death, and while Kyui Wara had never lost, there had been a couple true masters who had come close to beating him. The bald man was good. Even good enough to be called a master, but Kyui Wara had fought better and won. At the very least this fight would be a good distraction. Soon Xavius would be finished. What would follow after, Kyui Wara didn't know.

"Congratulations, old man. I can fight you without holding back." Kyui Wara's scimitars blurred as he renewed his attack. As expected the bald man was put on the defensive once confronted with the Kyui Wara's full speed. Quickly becoming overwhelmed the bald man retreated several steps as he narrowly avoided what would have been a crippling blow to his left elbow. Smiling Kyui Wara pressed his advantage. The thrill of being in control enveloped him. Too long had he felt utterly helpless in the presence of that damned sorcerer! Now he was the one who held the upper hand. He was the one in control, not the helpless one!

With a diagonal slash preformed with seemingly impossible speed the bald man parried a strike, sending Kyui Wara's left arm swinging widely to his side. The assassin blinked. That had been too fast. Even as his mind was realizing the implications of what had just happened his right arm swung down instinctively, only to meet the follow through upwards slash of the bald man's katana. His right arm was flung up and away from his body. With a flash of cold shock Kyui Wara realized that he was wide open. The only thing saving him was the fact that the bald man's katana was now out of position to take advantage of the opening.

Then the bald man smiled. Smirked. Then a foot was planted squarely in Kyui Wara's chest. Then he was flying back through the air.

His eyes snapped wide open as icy shock flowed into his brain, quickly bubbling into liquid fury. He had fallen for the bald man's bluff. By lulling him into a false sense of security the bald man had managed to position himself directly between the assassin and what he was guarding: Xavius; Riiza. His attack hadn't been designed to do any serious injury, but get him out of the way. Even as Kyui Wara's back hit the earth his legs were snapping forward, launching him to his feet faster than gravity had brought him down. The bald man was sprinting straight at Xavius. Nothing blocked his path. If Xavius was killed, then Riiza might die too. The chance could not be taken. Kyui Wara cursed himself and his arrogance as he darted forward. If Riiza died because of his foolish pride…

Momentarily he considered throwing a scimitar. He had clear shot at the bald man's back. Quickly he dismissed the idea. If he did miss then he'd have to end up fighting the man with only one blade. That was not a fight he would take if given the chance. The bald man suddenly and erratically lurched to the right. Had he thrown his scimitar it would have missed. Kyui Wara marveled at how the man had perfectly timed the evasion for a strike he didn't even know would occur. The bald man continued to jerk from one sided to the next has he ran. No, Kyui Wara would not risk losing a scimitar on such poor odds of striking the winning blow. Instead he ran as fast as he ever had. The bald man might very well be just as quick as he when it came to swordplay, but in a foot race the assassin had the clear edge.

Abruptly coming to a halt the bald man spun around to meet his charging adversary, at the same time pulling his katana up over his right shoulder with the blade pointed outward. When they had begun the fight they were what? A hundred yards away from Xavius, maybe a little more? The distance had now been halved. Skidding to a stop Kyui Wara took up his own battle stance, frowning. He had seen that strange stance once before. It clicked suddenly. The kid with the red hair who was chasing after Xavius. He had used the same stance when he had made his last ditch attack on the Denadoro Mountain. "Those boys from the mountain," Kyui Wara said curiously. "They were your students weren't they?"

The bald man smiled. "Fine swordsmen both. Of course neither would stand much a chance against ye. Not as they are now. Still, fightin' a master such as yerself was surly a good experience for them."

Kyui Wara smiled coldly as he closed in. "Why do you act as though they're still among the living."

The bald man barked a short laugh. "And why would I pretend that me are boys dead? The likes of ye wouldn't be able to finish off any pupil of old Refla."

Unsure of whether this Refla had successfully called his bluff or was bluffing himself, Kyui Wara lunged forward. Refla met the attack head on with a flurry of blows that drove Kyui Wara several steps back before hastily back stepping to further his approach to Xavius. Without constantly being attacked Refla could easily move backwards, steadily drawing closer to his goal, but even when Kyui Wara engaged him all Refla had to do was let himself get driven backwards.

Sweeping to the left Kyui Wara drove in again, trying to change the angle that Refla would be pushed back. Matching the assassin's speed and footwork Refla quickly repositioned himself. Kyui Wara growled under his breath as he repeated the strategy, at least this way Refla's advance was slowed, if only slightly. The glowing from the girls had intensified since the last time Kyui Wara had seen. Xavius had to be close! If only he could delay Refla just enough for the ceremony to complete…No! Banishing the thought from his mind Kyui Wara redoubled his effort. He would not put his hope in protecting Riiza in the sorcerer. He'd keep her safe by his own hand. Delaying Refla was not good enough. He would not delay him. He would stop him.

Attacking once again Kyui Wara made a desperate attempt at Refla's throat that left an opening he knew the master swordsmen would see. Relfa countered with a thrust that should have killed him. Even with all his skill and speed Kyui Wara only barely spun out of the way. The risk had been worth it. Kyui Wara had regained the middle position between Refla and Xavius.

"Yer willin' to risk yer life for that snake? Keep playin' these games and ye'll find yerself dead, boy," Refla said.

"Not for him." Kyui Wara panted. The fight, short as it was, had been intense enough to strain him. "If he dies before finishing his…ceremony, my sister dies with him."

Refla spat. "He's lyin' to ye. If ye truly want to protect yer sister then ye'll let me kill him."

Shaking his head Kyui Wara steadied himself back into his stance. "Not a chance I can take. You'll not get any closer to them, now that I've regained the advantage."

Barking out another short laugh Refla fell back into his own battle stance. "Ye're good, I'll give ye that much, but I'm surprised ye haven't realized it yet."

"Realized what yet?" Kyui Wara growled.

"That I've controlled every aspect of this fight since the start." Refla's mouth formed a wicked grin. "Ye're standin' where ye are, because I put ye there!"

Charging forward Refla unleashed a torrent of overhead blows. The pattern should have left him wide open, but the sheer speed of the attacks made anything short of frantic blocking impossible for even Kyui Wara. Each strike drove the assassin a step back, and the strikes dropped like rain. As one savage attack routine after another pushed him back Kyui Wara realized that Refla was gaining far more ground this way than he had been earlier in the fight. Then it all clicked into place. Refla knew that he could only sustain such a ferocious drive only a short time before wearing out. His previous tactics had only been to set up this final drive. Panic grew in Kyui Wara's mind with every step he took back. How close were they? How much further did Refla have to push him back? Would he trip over Xavius at any moment?

As his left hand grew numb Kyui Wara realized that he was being forced to parry more often with that hand than the other. A horizontal strike that the assassin barely blocked with his right scimitar left a hole in Refla's own defense. Instinctively Kyui Wara struck out with his left scimitar, only realizing his mistake too late. Using the extra force given by Kyui Wara's own blow, Refla's parry sent the scimitar flying out of his weakened left hand. When Kyui Wara parried the next attack with his only remaining weapon Refla slid in, grabbing his wrist. Before the assassin could respond a quick punching motion slammed the katana's hilt into his face. Slumping back Kyui Wara felt himself get tossed to the side.

He had failed.

Looking up from the spot he had been thrown, he watched Refla's katana arc downward at Xavius's head. His breath caught. The blade had stopped within an inch of the sorcerers face. With a smile like ice Xavius looked up at his attacker. "Now don't look too frustrated. It's not as close of a call as you think. I finished sometime ago, but I thought it would be interesting to see who would win your little duel."

Pulling himself to his feet Kyui Wara saw the small object hovering before Xavius. It looked nothing more than a rainbow swirled length of glass. Reaching out Xavius slowly gripped it. At his touch the lights emanating from the four girls snapped into the rod. "With the power this will lead me too," Xavius said, "even the strongest wizards this world has ever known will be nothing but flies for me to swat as I please, but you my dear swordsman. You already are." A brief shimmer in the air was the only warning before an invisible force slammed into Refla hurling him through the air.

Standing Xavius turned his gaze to Kyui Wara. The four girls floated upward and began circling the sorcerer, accelerating with each rotation. "What's the meaning of this, sorcerer?" Kyui Wara snarled. "I've done what you've asked, as has my sister, now that you have what you were after, leave us be."

"Oh no. I can't allow one who contemplated treason to go unpunished. I know you very seriously considered killing me. Better for you had you stood against me without compromise. Killing me wouldn't have done your sister any harm, but for even the consideration of betrayal you will pay." The invisible tether holding the blonde girl to Xavius snapped, sending her flying through the air to his back. Her ear piercing shriek at slamming into the earth melted into agonized screaming. Kyui Wara could see the unnatural angle her right arm now made.

"Bastard," Kyui Wara growled, his calm having long since boiled away. "If you harm even a hair on Riiza's head I'll kill you!"

The girl they had only recently captured flew off at an angle, landing in a crumpled heap, her long raven hair hiding her face. She still breathed, but Kyui Wara knew that if luck swung the other way she could have ended up with a broken limb like the blonde girl, or worse, a broken neck. Xavius laughed mirthlessly. "Kill me? You? You had your chance, and you let it pass."

"Put. Riiza. Down," Kyui Wara said as he forced his own icy calm to return.

"How about we play a little game?" Xavius spread his arms, pointing of to either side. "I throw both girls at the same time. Pick a side and run. If you get lucky you'll catch your precious sister, but you really should hurry. If you wait until I've thrown them you'll catch neither. It will be a shame if Riiza breaks her pretty neck due to your indecisiveness."

Out from the corner of his eye Kyui Wara saw Refla get to his feet. There was at least a slight chance that he would catch the girl thrown to Xavius's left, so without thinking further Kyui Wara sprinted to the sorcerer's right. A moment later the force of the other girl, Gina, slammed him into the ground. Laying her to the side he stood sighing with relief. Refla had managed to catch his sister and was laying her to the side.

Xavius turned to face him smiling. Kyui Wara had fought men who knew they were outmatched before. Men who knew they would be cut down by a superior fighter who far outclassed them. Some of the men ran. Some of them fought anyway. Kyui Wara would not be one of the men who ran. Raising his single scimitar he charged, as Refla did the same from the other side. Lifted off of his feet Kyui Wara felt himself fly around Xavius, being thrown by the sorcerer's magic. Slamming into something hard Kyui Wara's breath was knocked from his chest.

When the pain lanced into his brain he didn't have the air in him to scream.

* * *

With a flick of his wrist Xavius sent the foolish assassin crashing into the other swordsman. Who was the bald man anyway? It didn't matter. Whoever the bald man was he had chosen the wrong enemy. As the two warriors flew backwards Xavius casually sent a bolt of electricity into them both. The two men were instantly rendered unconscious, yet both tenaciously continued to breath. Xavius smiled. They were both tough if nothing else. Raising his hand to send a second bolt into them he paused. First he'd kill the girl whose continued screaming was beginning to grate. Redirecting his arm he gathered the energy needed to send the silencing bolt of lightning.

An unfamiliar itching sensation in the back of his mind made him stop. He looked down at the rainbow colored rod in his other hand. For the first time fully grasping the knowledge he'd attained. That unfamiliar sensation was a Gate being used, something he could now _feel_. The next sensation he felt was very familiar. People with magic.

Forgetting the girl who continued to scream he brought his attention to the front of the old stone fortress as five figures rounded its corner running his way. They had found him? Had they just gotten lucky? Or did they somehow know that he'd be here? Even with the _Chrono Key _he wouldn't be able to make a gate from scratch fast enough to escape.

He had made it this far, he would not be stopped! Not now after going through so much. Not now after having finally attained the _Chrono Key_. He was so close to everything! Immortality! The world! His dreams were so close to being achieved. He would not let anyone stop him. Especially not a group of untrained fools. Magic wielding or not, those who opposed him would die.


	24. The Long Awaited Battle

**Chapter 24: The Long Awaited Battle**

The scene focused before Flare's eyes. A mere hundred yards away stood Xavius, the man Flare sought, the man Flare knew had to be destroyed. Thirty feet to his left lie the unmoving body of a white haired woman, her brother Kyui Wara was on the ground only a few feet away heaped together with who looked to be, oddly enough, Refla. Directly behind Xavius was a blonde girl Flare assumed to be Paige's sister Penelope, and to her right a girl with raven hair who was likely Veemoli's daughter. To the left of Xavius was Gina. Compared to some of the other bodies which looked as though they had been haphazardly tossed Gina was flat on her back, but from the distance he stood Flare couldn't say for sure whether she was alive or not. In fact the only sign that anyone lived aside from Xavius himself was the agonized crying of a female voice, though Flare could not tell who it came from. If Xavius had hurt Gina…

"Should we hit him now before he can make a move?" Tai asked running at Flare's left side. "We almost overpowered him before, and this time we have Paige's magic."

"Not yet," Flare said. "Closer so we don't miss and waste any of our strength."

"Strength we will need," came Randall's voice from Flare's right. "Last time I believe Xavius was considerably more exhausted than he is now; however, we should strike without preamble the barrier he's erected isn't using any more power than it was the last time we faced him. Before he can strengthen it we should attack."

With half the distance covered Flare could more clearly see the shield of magic Xavius had erected. Like a shimmering glass wall that curved around his dark figure. Raising his hand to signal the others he slowed his run into a walk. The others slowed beside him. "What is it?" asked Tai.

"His shield is different," Flare said. "It's better than it was before, stronger somehow. I don't think we can break this one."

Randall shook his head. "I tell you the truth. He's not using an ounce more power to maintain this shield than the one he used in the future."

"I believe you," Flare replied. "but he had more time to make this one, that last shield was thrown together in an instant. I think with the extra warning he made this one better. It might not actually be _stronger _than the last one, but it _is _better made. I can tell just by looking at it."

Randall gave Flare a curious look of appraisal before nodding. "Very well, I trust you. We must wait for him to first make a move. Something to take his focus off the shield long enough for it to weaken."

"What if it doesn't weaken when he uses magic against us?" Paige asked. "If it's just well made and not energy expensive, how do we know he can't just sit behind it the whole time he's attacking us?"

"Maybe two of us should attack his shield, and the other two focus on defense," Tai suggested.

"I don't think so," Flare said. "This type of shield won't hold as well when he uses other magic. It will grow weaker if he starts doing something else, but he has to make a move soon. I can feel the shield growing…stressed. If he chooses to do nothing it will collapse within minutes. He's gotta be planning someth-."

As on cue a wave of something invisible and cold washed over them. Suppressing a shiver Flare said, "Whatever that was it took a heavy toll on his shield, I still don't think it's worth attacking yet, but I was right, whatever he just did caused the shield to grow weaker."

"But what was that?" Tai asked nervously as he readjusted his grip on _Azure Wind_.

Xavius's icy laugh washed over them next, almost as cold as the invisible magic. "When I first found this island it contained such an interesting curse," the sorcerer said with a sneer. "Quite a powerful one that should have been around even in this time, four hundred years after its placement. It would appear that someone has altered history and very nearly destroyed it. I assume that the credit for this feat is yours? I just couldn't allow such an impressive piece of work to go unappreciated, so I've generously given it a jump start."

Flare felt gooseflesh rise on his skin as Xavius aimed his smile at them, then he felt something else, a faint pulsing coming from the hulking form of the fortress. The memory of being covered in vile black blood flashed in his head. "Do you feel that?" he asked in a hollow voice.

Wroff, Randall, and Paige shook their heads. "Wroff feel nothing," the caveman said.

"I don't feel anything either," Randall said.

"I do," Tai said with a sigh. "That black heart is beating in there again, isn't it?"

Flare nodded. "I think it is."

Paige gasped and pointed back the way they had just run. A flood of animated corpses spilled out of Fort Ratcleff's main gate. After four centuries, flesh no longer remained on the skeletons that had once been soldiers, both human and mystic. Armed with weapons rusted beyond repair they surged forward.

"I'll handle this," Tai said with frozen calm as he drew his katana. "Flare you take care of Xavius and I'll make sure our old friends don't get in your way."

Flare grimaced as his friend ran toward the undead army. "Dammit Tai, even with magic you can't take them all on!"

If his friend heard him he made no notice as he charged off. Paige drew her gun as she steeled her face from horror to determination. "I'll help him Flare, just promise me that you'll take care of Penny."

"It's a promise," Flare said and with a nod Paige raced after Tai.

"It would be rude to let _them_ have all the fun, though, wouldn't it?"

Flare's attention snapped back to the sorcerer. Xavius laughed. "I have something very special for you to play with."

"Over there," Randall said motioning to the right as a large flat disc grew out of nothing. Slowly its bright red surface began to bulge. Within seconds the bulges became recognizable as a massive shape. A beast the same bright red color as the magical hole it was crawling out of emerged. Its body was covered with long jagged scales that had the appearance of highly polished metal. It clenched and unclenched fists with fingers like bladed weapons, each as long as a dagger. The creature's elongated head had no distinguishable eyes or ears but had a mouth that opened to reveal several rows of razor sharp teeth.

"This is one of my prize possessions," the sorcerer's voice was frozen pride, "a beast from the very bowels of the planet. Much better than a golem like some of my peers preferred; though, much more dangerous. You see magic has very little effect against their natural armor. As a result it takes some skill to capture one and force it to your will. Most of those who try inevitably die in the attempt."

Flare's face darkened as he drew his sword and turned to the two men at his side. "He's dividing us. It would be best if Randall and I could double up on him with our magic, but how long could you hold out against that thing Wroff?"

The giant man raised his chin defiantly in the direction of the crimson monster and let a low growl escape his throat. "Wroff crush reptites. Wroff crush red monster too."

"No, I don't think that's best," Randall said as he drew the _Masamune _and positioned himself to keep an eye on both the sorcerer and his beast. "I don't think any of us would last more than a few minutes alone against that thing. Obviously, without magic Wroff cannot face Xavius, but I think him and I might be able to slay the sorcerer's beast in time to lend you aid against him."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to personally be the one to take him out, but Randall are you sure I'm the best to face him one on one? You've always been the most skilled with magic out of us," Flare said, speaking quickly, time for planning was running out fast.

The ex-knight shook his head. "I'm just more sensitive than you, but just because a man has better eyesight or hearing does not mean he has stronger arms. I've been able to get a good read on our relative magical strengths. Tai and Paige are so close in strength that I can't reliably say who's more powerful. I'm stronger than they are by a fair margin, but you are on a different level all together." Flare looked uncertain, prompting Randall to continue. "Comparing you to the rest of us magically is a little like comparing Wroff to the rest of us physically, only I believe your case is the more exaggerated of the two."

"And what about Xavius? How does he compare?" Flare's face took on a mask of iron clad determination as his eyes forgot the emerging beast and focused in on the man in black.

"Xavius isn't at full strength, he's much closer than he was before, but recharging that curse, completing the ceremony for the _Chrono Key_, even his battle against Veemoli has weakened him somewhat. At full power I'd put him on a level with you, but right now you hold the advantage in raw power. That might balance things enough for you to hold out while we finish his beast. Your edge in raw power against his experience." Randall finished as the monster emerged fully and the magical hole it had come from shrank back into nothingness. The beast stretched to its full height, nearly a head taller than Wroff. An otherworldly shriek ripped through the air as its jaws opened widely.

Flare knew that strength couldn't match experience in a fight, not unless the strength was overwhelming, like an adult facing a child, but discovering that he was strong, strong enough to be a threat made a spark in his confidence. A spark that ignited into a white hot rage. A rage against the man who had taken Gina. A rage against the man who threatened to blacken time itself with his evil. "Randall, if Wroff gets Gina and Penny to move them to a safer place can you hold your own against that thing until he rejoins you?"

Smiling grimly Randall squared himself in the direction the beast stood, stretched open its wide jaws and unleashed another otherworldly shriek. "Yes, I think can hold out for a little, if he's fast with getting the girls."

"Wroff, I'll cover you so you can get behind Xavius and to the girls. When I attack, you run, understand?" Flare began to focus his rage, combining it with his magic.

As Wroff nodded Flare turned his attention fully to the object of his hate. Xavius stood behind the magical barrier his mouth moving silently. Undoubtedly preparing something nasty to use against them before his shield collapsed entirely. Then Flare saw it. A point on the shield that was stressed worse than the rest, a point that slid across the barriers surface, constantly in motion. Flare could shatter the shield if he hit that point. Striking it now wouldn't produce a direct hit on Xavius, but time had run out.

A bolt of molten fire as thick as Flare's own wrist erupted from his left hand as he flung it forward. Screeching through the air it slammed through the shield and exploded against the earth. As the shattered shield vanished Xavius leaped back in surprise, hastily channeling a burst of wind to shield him from the fiery blast. Randall dashed toward the crimson beast and Wroff charged toward the girls. Acting as fast as he could Flare summoned a wall of flame, placing it between Xavius and Wroff, and the girls Wroff was running to. Blinking at the twenty foot inferno Xavius reacted just in time to block a second bolt of flame. Sheathing his sword, Flare walked forward. Xavius would kill everything Flare had ever cared about if Flare didn't kill him first, and in this fight magic would cut deeper than a sword.

* * *

"I'm behind you, Tai!" Paige called to the stocky man as he ran toward an army of undead skeletons, the like that she had only ever believed could grace a movie screen, or perhaps the pages of a comic book, but not real life, not her life.

"I'll take the right side! You take left!" He answered in a shout without looking back. Taking your eyes off the enemy could spell disaster, and too much was at stake. As Paige lifted her pistol to take aim a bright flash of blue light shot out from Tai. A wave of super cold air covered the ground in a wide swath freezing skeletal feet where they stood. Some of the running undead fell forward, their momentum snapping off their planted legs at the ankles, sending them to the ground where they froze solid.

_Stupid!_ Paige berated herself. Thinking only of her gun when she could use magic. There was a reason super heroes never carried guns. It was because they had super powers. Reaching into herself, into her soul, or mind, or wherever it was this strange new power was located, she grabbed hold of her magic and summoned a sheet of intense fire in front of the left side of the approaching hoard. The sheet of flame grew into a wall of flame, as hot as she could make it burn. A moment later the first file of skeletal warriors emerged black with soot, but otherwise unharmed. _Stupid! _She again scolded. The fire not only did nothing to stop their relentless advance, but it had melted away some of Tai's ice, releasing trapped skeletons.

For one horrific moment Paige panicked, her wall of fire having had no effect on the undead's advance. Then she remembered Penny. Her sister was counting on her to stop these skeletons from overrunning Flare and the others. Everyone who was helping her save her twin. Everyone who made an attempt for rescue even possible. She remembered Veemoli's story of how if they didn't stop Xavius here and now that the entire fate of time could fall to his shadow. And she remembered Tai.

The short time that she'd known him had been the darkest point in her life, the darkest point in his life too. Yet he had managed to make her feel somehow less bleak through it all. She had without realizing it placed her hopes of getting her sister back squarely on the shoulders of that stocky swordsman. That stocky swordsman from a thousand years in her past. If she panicked and did nothing he'd still fight the enemy. Fight the enemy until he fell to them. Her panic vanished as she focused her power onto a single point on the ground. The point exploded sending earth and fire and shattered bones into the air.

She picked another point and focused. Then another point. The skeletons continued to advance. She continued to pick points.

* * *

Flare swung his arm bringing a pillar of flame crashing down like a hellish whip. The pillar stopped short of its target, slamming into an instantaneously crafted shield several feet above Xavius's head. The fiery whip had yet to fully evaporate when several sharp spikes made from what seemed to be solid darkness were thrust at Flare's right side. Flare's own shield appeared only just in time to keep a minor wound from becoming a fatal wound.

Lunging to the side Flare avoided Xavius's follow up attack of a larger, crescent shaped shadow blade, and countered with several fist sized balls of fire that spun in random spirals and zigzags as they screeched toward the sorcerer. The erratic movements of the deadly spheres made little difference to the experienced magic user who danced through them, only having to erect a partial shield to protect his left shoulder from a single glancing blow. The rest exploded harmlessly on the ground behind him.

Frustration had intermingled with Flare's rage. Magically powerful he might be, but his inexperience had become very obvious early in the fight. For the first few moments Flare had attacked furiously in an attempt to overwhelm his opponent who he hoped would have underestimated his strength. Xavius had indeed seemed surprised by the onslaught, but even though he was momentarily put on the defensive, his recovery was swift, and his transition to offense brutal. Flare was still bleeding from several wounds caused by the razor like wind that had been hurled against him. A wind that had not only extinguished the flames of Flare's latest attack, but had also come dangerously close to eviscerating him.

Only the shield Flare created in the last possible moment had saved him. The shield was nearly identical to the one Xavius had used in the future to save himself from the combined assault of Flare and his friends. Somehow Flare had figured out the trick to making it by observing it done only once. He was sure he could also make the stronger shield Xavius had hid behind before the fight began; although, in the middle of a pitched magical fight knowledge of a shield that took a relatively long time to form was useless.

Still, Flare had discovered something surprising and wonderful. He could understand how magic was done by observation. This let him adapt rapidly as the fight drew on, allowing him to stay alive in a fight that by all rights should have killed him already. Unfortunately, a life or death struggle wasn't the ideal educational environment. Flare imagined that being forced to learn how to use a sword by fighting an expert swordsman would be an excellent analog to his situation.

The current problem he was working on was how to alter the origin of his magic. So far Flare's attacks all originated from his body. He could alter the way his fire was formed and how it acted, but it always came from his hands. Throwing a fireball felt more natural than just willing one to appear in an arbitrary point. This left him at a stark disadvantage. Xavius always knew where Flare's attacks would come from, but Flare constantly had to be wary of attacks that could materialize out of thin air. Being able to attack from any direction, any angle, any distance was one of the main reasons Xavius had Flare focused nearly exclusively on defense. Beyond that, Xavius could form his instantaneous shields further away from his body than Flare could. No matter how strong Flare made his shield his body still absorbed some of the impact, whereas Xavius had nothing to fear from balls of fire that exploded several feet away.

What made this problem all the more frustrating was that it seemed so simple. Not only could Xavius use magic like this, but so could Flare's friends. Tai didn't have to touch a pool of water to freeze it. He could just point over a distance and it would freeze. Hell, even Flare himself had done it! The wall of flame he had used to shield Wroff as he had gone to recover Gina and Penny was formed at a distance. An act that Flare had preformed via instinct and had yet to repeat.

If only he had time to think, even a moment that he wasn't bouncing around frantically dodging Xavius's relentless flow of attacks. If only he wasn't so woefully inexperienced with magic. If he had received any type of training with magic he knew this was a concept that he'd have grasped easily, after all magic was a part of himself, unlike the katana which was an outside object, if an outside object that he had learned to use with considerable skill.

Something clicked. Inside his head Flare heard Refla lecturing him and Tai as they went through a daily routine of practice swings, developing their strength and perfecting their form. _Most men think of swords as weapons, or tools, or just shiny hunks o' steel. Don't! Yer swords are more than all o' that! They are extensions of yerself. That will to fight that's within yer mind an' soul. Make yer swords more than sharpened steel tools! Turn yer swords into that will to fight!_

If a sword could be metaphorically thought of as an extension of someone's will to fight, then maybe the external use of magic to alter the outside world was simply an extension of their internal magic. It was easy to only extend magic to the surface of the body. Form the fire in the hand; throw the fire from the hand.

But the fire didn't come from the hand.

It came from his magic. Magic that had simply been extended from within to the hand. Flare focused on extending his magic outward. Instantly he saw it. A bubble of energy surrounded him, shimmering and translucent and likely invisible to any eyes save his own, but very real. When he focused his attention back to Xavius the bubble vanished from his sight, but he could still sense it; feel its shape and dimension. _That's why I didn't see it before, _Flare thought, _I was focused on Xavius. I can only see my own magic when that's what I'm focused on, but now that I feel it I can't unfeel it…_

Taking advantage of Flare's momentary stillness Xavius attacked. Sending a ball of writhing shadow and electricity straight at Flare. _Now that is something I won't pick up any time soon. _The complexity of not only mixing elements, but the difficulty of using an element other than your innate one was instantly apparent to him. _But this I can. _Pushing the bubble of his magic forward he set it up in the form of a wall a solid ten feet in front of him and from there slammed his shield into place. The spell exploded in an uncanny array of light and dark. Spells like this one Flare had been forced to dodge. A shield placed directly against his body would not have blocked the brunt of the powerful explosion.

Flare then extended part of his magic straight up, stretching it twenty feet into the air, and from that point fired several bolts of flame. Xavius countered with a shield, but the unexpected angle of the attack caused it to be formed a hair later and closer to his body. Heat and fire struck him and singed his black clothing. No real damage had been done, but the sorcerer jumped back from the flames and leveled a glare of frozen hatred at Flare.

_Felt that didn't you? _Flare's frustration ebbed and he stroked his anger back into a roar. Without the assistance of Randall and the others his chances of winning were practically nonexistent, but if he continued to learn as the fight wore on he could last until help came.

_Maybe I can't beat you by myself, but I _will_ hurt __you._

* * *

Xavius cursed silently. Not for the minuscule amount of pain that he'd just been caused, but at the rate the boy's skill with magic was growing. Had he not been born thirteen thousand years after its destruction, he might have become a great wizard in Zeal. With the high rate of growth added to his surprising innate strength the boy could drag the fight on into dangerous lengths. He had hoped to kill them all quickly and salvage some of the power he'd put into the _Vindoppliqous _spell. Ending the spell without any re-uptake of power could be very unpleasant, but he would not risk letting the spell run out while these fools still drew breath, unpleasant was better than fatal.

Reaching into the well of magic within him he increased the amount of power that flowed to the _Vindoppliqous Vessel_. Using this much power at once would drain his reserves more quickly than he'd like, so he'd need to finish the fight fast.

The fool boy had no idea of how wide the gap in power between them truly was.


	25. The Promise

**Chapter 25: The Promise**

Wroff felt the sudden burst of heat from Flare's conjured fire wall, as it erupted between him and the sorcerer. Having been born in a land of ice and snow Wroff was far more accustomed to the other extreme of temperatures. The first time he had traveled to the eastern Volcanoes where the reptites lived had been a shock to his senses. His parents' generation had once lived in a world of heat and warmth, before the great snows came and blanketed the planet. Wroff could hardly imagine living in a world of constant warmth. The few weeks he had spent traveling to other eras of time had opened his eyes to how different life could be if the threat of freezing wasn't constant.

That threat was what he and his people had to live with daily. It was like how his mother and father had lived with the threat of the reptites everyday of their lives. These threats made you strong. They had made Wroff strong, and a little extra warmth would not stop him from helping his friends. Shrugging off the wave of intense heat the large man continued to charge at full speed toward the first girl. Her long ash blonde hair marked her as Gina, the young woman Flare and Tai had been trying to rescue, the young woman who Flare planned on taking as a mate.

Because Flare was a strong man it stood to reason that Gina was a strong woman, so Wroff was not surprised to find her very much alive and breathing strong. Whatever had been done to her had rendered her unconscious, but had not been enough to kill her. With haste as his priority he scooped her up under his powerful left arm and dashed off to the next girl. A direction that luckily carried him and Gina away from the explosive battle Flare was now conducting with Xavius.

The blonde girl was somewhere between coconsciousness and the blissful void of the unconscious, but by the sound of her pained crying it was apparent that she was not nearly as close to the void as she'd have liked. Her features were an exact copy of her twin, Paige, if not for the length of her hair Wroff would not have been able to distinguish between the two sisters. As gingerly as he could manage he lifted Penelope with his free arm, careful not to place any pressure against her twisted and broken limb. She cried out in protest as he swiftly started his run toward cover.

The white haired girl, who Wroff instantly knew as the assassin's sister, had been placed against the trunk of a large tree. Stepping around the unmoving bodies of the assassin himself and an older well-muscled bald man who Wroff did not recognize, Wroff lay both girls next to the base of the trunk opposite of the fighting. Glancing at the white haired girl, Wroff made the decision to move her on the sheltered side of the tree before again running off to return only moments later with the last of the kidnapped girls, the raven haired daughter of the wizard Veemoli.

With his task done, the caveman stood, a powerful wooden club in each hand as he surveyed the battlefield. Tai and Paige stood at the far end of the field against a mass of skeletal warriors, fire and ice magic working in unison to hold the line preventing Wroff and the others from being overwhelmed. Flare's own battle against Xavius was a spectacle unlike any the caveman had seen. The air around the combatants was alive with explosive gouts of flame as Flare launched a one man assault against their greatest enemy, but as much as Wroff wanted to go to his friend's aid, he knew that he could not. In a contest of magic Wroff was a non-contender. No, he would not be of any help in the particular battle, but the foe which Randall fought with was an altogether separate matter.

Gripping the _Masamune _in both hands Randall pointed the sword at his foe as electricity arced across its polished blade. From the distance of thirty feet a brilliant bolt of white hot lightning lanced out of the sword and slammed into the crimson beast, staggering it backwards with a clap of thunder, but Xavius had spoken the truth, magic did little, if any, noticeable damage to the monster, even so it howled in fury, a horribly alien noise that set the big man's teeth on edge. No man, beast, or reptite had ever made a sound to resemble it that Wroff had ever heard. The beast rushed forward, much quicker than he'd expect from something its size. The large reptites were powerful foes, but they could not move their bulk at the same speeds that the smaller creatures could. Xavius's crimson beast seemed to ignore its own weight as it attacked with the speed of a much smaller, lighter creature, but with all of the deadly strength one could expect from such a giant.

Randall sidestepped a lethal swipe of the beast's clawed right hand, bringing down a counter stroke that rang out like a bell, on its scaled arm. Unharmed the beast spun to face Randall. The warrior avoided swing after swing of the beast's lethal claws, following each attack with a counter. The _Masamune _clashed against the scaly red armor, ringing out with an oddly harmonious tone with each blow. Randall struck between separate scales with every attack, systematically searching for a weak point, yet so far finding none.

Most of what Wroff knew of fighting reptites had come from his parents. Later he had put his knowledge to practice when he traveled to the volcanic lands where the reptites lived, and once again during their last desperate assault on mankind. Some of the larger reptites had scales so hard that they could not be penetrated by spears, not even the ones with stone tips. The only way to kill these was to beat them with rocks or clubs, using the powerful impacts to crush their insides while ignoring the impenetrable defense of their scales.

Focusing on Randall with its back to Wroff the beast left itself wide open to the huge man's charge. If Randall could not find a way past its scales Wroff would simply liquefy the beast's innards. Wroff swung the club in his right hand in a wide horizontal arc as he descended upon the beast like an avalanche from the Mystic Mountains. The wooden club met the crimson scales of the beast's middle back with an earsplitting crack. The club didn't break, but Wroff felt the jolt of the impact down to his bones. His left handed club came in at an upward angle slamming against its oddly elongated skull, producing similar results.

The beast whirled toward its new attacker. The caveman used his impressive reach to land a blow to its chest before throwing himself back, narrowly avoiding the clawed swipe of the furious monster. Hitting this creature was like hitting solid stone! Both of Wroff's arms still tingled from the jarring impact of his own attacks. It was as though there was nothing soft inside the beast to crush. Continuing to avoid its lethal clawed attacks Wroff countered each swing by bringing one of his clubs down on its arms, hoping to possibly to break or injure one of the deadly crimson limbs. To the caveman's dismay the beast's arms held as little give in them as its main body. Bone crushing blow after bone crushing blow was ignored as the seemingly unstoppable creature relentlessly pursued him.

Bright blue lines of electrical power danced across the _Masamune's_ blade as Randall took the opportunity to launch his own assault against the beast's unguarded back. The magically charged sword moved with unnatural speed as Randall was able to forgo defense and focus exclusively on an all out offensive. Each attack landing on a different part of the creature's back, searching for, but never finding a weak point to exploit. The harmonious ringing from the _Masamune's_ assault creating a stark counterpoint to the ear splitting cracks caused by Wroff's wooden clubs.

Sudden pain screamed through Wroff's chest as a set of razor sharp claws sliced through his flesh. Droplets of blood, a darker red than the claws that had caused them, fell through the air to the grass bellow. The wound was painful, but luckily not nearly as deep as it could have been. Ignoring the blaze of pain across his chest Wroff continued to avoid the unceasing attacks, and redoubled his effort in hitting back.

Unexpectedly the beast swung both arms at once at angles unlike its previous attacks. Instead of connecting with Wroff's body they slammed directly against his duel clubs knocking them from hands numb from the repeated impacts. Wroff stumbled backwards not able to get enough distance between him and the beast to avoid its savage lunge. In desperation he grabbed onto the beast's arms just below the deadly clawed hands. His powerful muscles strained with all the might he could summon, but the claws already stained a darker red from his blood moved down steadily to deliver what would be the killing blow.

With a howl of defiance Randall slipped his relatively smaller frame in between the two larger combatants and plunged the shining blade of the _Masamune _straight into the monster's snarling mouth. Lightning erupted from the blade snapping the beast's elongated head backwards. Taking full advantage of the opportunity Wroff pushed off against the beast's arms, moving to a safe distance. Pulling the blade of his sword back Randall followed suite.

For a moment the beast erratically shook its head. Then it steadied itself and let out another alien shriek. Without taking his eyes off the beast Randall asked, "Wroff, are you still able to fight?"

Wroff grunted as he cautiously moved backwards to reclaim his weapons. "Wroff strong. Randall strong too. But monster is most strong thing Wroff has seen. Maybe too strong to die?"

With an inaudible sigh Randall began to circle around the creature once again. "I'm starting to wonder that myself. If this thing, this beast is truly from the planet's bowls like Xavius has said, then we have no idea what kind of environment it lives in. It may well weather worse things than our joint assault as a matter of day to day life for all we know."

"Wroff keep fighting," the caveman announced in defiance. "All things die. Wroff find way to kill."

"Yes," Randall agreed grimly, "but we need to find the way quickly. Flare is rapidly losing his fight, and if he dies, then we all die."

* * *

Flare had once seen a dog attack a cat, killing it before anyone had a chance to stop it from happening. Tired of the dog's harassment the cat clawed it across the nose. The simple attack could not have done any real harm to the dog, but the pain, or humiliation, or whatever emotion dogs feel set it off. Perhaps it was a simple knee-jerk fear against an entity capable in some way of doing it harm. Whatever the reason was, the outcome was the same. Overwhelmed by an enemy of superior size and strength the cat was ripped apart.

Flare felt a sudden empathetic kinship with that long dead cat.

It had been a losing battle from the start, but once Flare had adapted to the situation and gained enough control over his magic to more effectively attack and defend, Xavius had suddenly lashed out with such a torrent of power that Flare hadn't been able to anything but defend. Flare's brief moment of victory was the moment he clawed the dog's nose. Now he was being ripped apart, and there was nobody around to help him.

A franticly spinning orb of shadow magic tore through all three layers of Flare's shield, barely slowing it down enough for Flare to dodge before it blew a hole three feet deep into the ground. Streams of reddish lightning crackled above him, straining against another magical shield that gave out as soon he had to redirect power into a frontal shield that shattered against the weight of a dozen screeching fireballs. Xavius was hurling magic of all elements at him, and Flare had realized that the construction of a magical barrier could be varied slightly to create an optimal shield. Had he not figured this out and had continued to use his "all-purpose" shields he might very well have already been killed.

Still this revelation only further confirmed how disadvantaged he was. While he had to franticly switch between the best type of shield with barely a moment's warning, Xavius only had to make one. The shield best suited for fire. Of course Flare realized that this was a moot point, barely worth considering. If he didn't get a chance to attack what did it matter if he could use only one element? Even if Flare could use all four, could use a hundred elements nobody even knew about, it wouldn't make a difference. All he could do was defend and dodge and run and pray. And curse. Curse the fact that he'd been trained to excel with a sword. A sword that was now useless to him.

For the second time in the fight something clicked inside his head. He was standing in front of his master and mentor receiving a lecture along with Tai. _Now I'll tell ye' this, _Refla said, _when ye start carryin' a katana, a real one with a real blade. That sword will be deadly. Deadly, but not near as much as the person carryin' it. Yer the weapon, not that hunk o' steel. No matter how finely made it may be, it is yerself that I've tempered and forged into a weapon. Everything I taught ye, every skill ye've learned from me and turned to be yer own. That is what makes ye a weapon, and if the time comes that that hunk o' steel in yer hand isn't enough, then ye remember these words, and if ye do, I know that ye'll realize how ta fight with everything that ye have._

A sudden understanding roared to life in his head. From the beginning he had no chance to win the fight, because he wasn't fighting with everything he had. He had discarded all of his other skills and relied solely on magic, forcing himself to go head to head with an experienced wizard. The truth was that magic was now only one of the tools he had. Even if it was a powerful tool, it was foolish to abandon the rest he had at his disposal. If he was to have any chance against Xavius he had to use everything. Everything. Anything less would be suicide. A cat picking a fight with a large dog would have a better chance.

The onslaught of spells ceased as Xavius leveled a curious look at Flare. "The look in your eyes has changed. Why pray tell is this."

"You sure you want to stop and chat? If you keep pressing me right now you might have a chance at winning," Flare said with mock cheerfulness, but if Xavius wanted to talk Flare would gladly jump at the chance to catch his breath and gather his thoughts.

"The warning is appreciated," Xavius said with cold sarcasm, "but while your tenacity is laudable, it has its limits, and these have been reached, even exceeded. Me finishing you and then your friends isn't just inevitable, it is imminent. So before I do I'd just like to know what that defiant look is for. You're intelligent enough to know that the game is up."

"You really wanna know?" Flare asked as the plan solidified in his mind.

"Humor me," Xavius said.

"I've just decided how I'm going to kill you."

Xavius's laugh was as harsh as it was cold. "I've always been amazed at how fools like you can make such grand claims when they know they're impossible. I've made it a point to know my limits, being an unfounded braggart serves no purpose."

"I'm not sure about my limits, but if you're going fight me, try and finish me off, there are a couple things you should know about me first."

"I hope it's not a long list. Your time is rapidly coming to an end." Xavius sneered.

"Not long," Flare said. "Just three things."

"My curiosity has been piqued. I'll allow you to illuminate me with these things I should know as a final niceness before I kill you." Xavius's lip twisted in a sardonic smile that caused gooseflesh to break out across Flare's neck. "Hurry now."

"The first thing you need to know is that I never make a promise that I can't keep. The second is that when I do make a promise I _always _keep it. The third is that I promise to kill you. I _will _kill you and stop you from getting the power you're after. That is a promise."

"Ah, such sappy heroics always make me smile," Xavius said, his voice low. "A pity your tongue won't be able to regale me with such drivel when you're dead."

The charge of magic swelled up around the sorcerer as he prepared to renew the attack. Flare knew that if Xavius continued to assault him like before, that he'd last only minutes before wearing down and making a fatal mistake. As the first lethal spell started to take form Flare reached down to his side and drew the pistol Paige had given him. A weapon he'd all but forgotten in his vain attempt to match magic for magic. Before the spell could finish Flare squeezed the gun's trigger three times in rapid succession. The bullets were well aimed and all slammed into the barrier Xavius's magic had been reverted to, causing the offensive spell to fissile. Flare continued to squeeze the trigger, firing shot after shot into Xavius's barrier. Magic had a way of eroding magic and was far more effective at taking out magical shields, but the bullets from Paige's gun had enough force behind them to strain Xavius's shield to its max, forcing the wizard to withhold his assault.

"Fool!" Xavius said his tone frigid. "Do you think you can kill me with that toy from the future?"

Flare knew that he couldn't win by simply shooting Xavius. The pistol wasn't his weapon. It was only a distraction to keep Xavius from attacking while he finished what he had started during their conversation. Invisible to the sorcerer's eyes, Flare's magic aura had split itself into over two dozen long thin ropelike limbs. Each "limb" was grasping or trying to grasp a separate patch of dry summer grass.

This was just as hard as Flare had thought it'd be, not only was it taxing to split the source of his magic in so many directions at once, but he'd never tried to use magic like this before. During the fight he'd surmised that magic while split into elemental components, could be used in non-elemental ways. This was how Xavius had been able to turn invisible and take control of Gina's mind. It was also how they formed the magical shields that had served as their ultimate defenses throughout the fight. What Flare now tried to do was probably considered telekinetic magic, and he had a feeling the principle was highly similar to that of the shields he'd been making the whole fight.

One long limb grew substantial and gripped its tuft of dry grass. Flare smiled. He'd figured it out, now all he had to do was repeat the process a little more than twenty times, but the hard part was done.

With his left hand he quickly retrieved his spare ammo clip, slamming it into place before the first had hit the ground. Each trigger squeeze was deliberate and paced. Too fast and he'd run out of bullets before his magic as finished; too slow and Xavius could possibly spare enough magic to attack. Sweat slid down Flare's forehead as the clip emptied. Four bullets. Seven telekinetic limbs. Two bullets. Three limbs. One. One. With an unceremonious click the clip slid from the pistols handle and fell to the ground, joining its brother.

Xavius smiled, gathering his magic out of the shield and into an attack.

With an audible whoosh, grass dry from the summer heat was torn from the earth and thrust into the air around Flare and Xavius. The grass hovered in a staggered formation for an eternal split second, before Flare converted all of the telekinetic energy into pure heat. The grass was instantaneously devoured by the raw heat, flashing momentarily into fire, but ultimately into dark smoke.

As soon as the smoke cloud formed Flare dashed to the left. Trailing several feet behind him he concentrated his magical aura sending a constant stream of fireballs hurling toward Xavius. The sorcerer cursed as he coughed in the smoke and retaliated by sending a blind assault toward the direction of the incoming fireballs. With Xavius's attacks landing harmlessly behind him Flare made one final push of effort with his magic, causing the fireballs to spin in such a manner that they hit Xavius on his left side.

When Flare emerged from the smokescreen Xavius had a shield defending his left flank and was sending a burst of razor wind into the smoked where the fireball assault had been launched. The wind cut nothing, and when the smoke was blown away it revealed nothing.

_Crimson Eon _slashed into Xavius's right side cutting upward across the sorcerer's chest. His eyes widened in surprise as drops of scarlet blood sprayed outward from his black cloak into the smoke stained air.

Flare snarled in vicious triumph locking eyes with Xavius. "Promise kept."


	26. Inferno to Ash

**Chapter 26: Inferno to Ash**

Tai focused his magic into the blade of his katana, _Azure Wind_. As luck would have it, metal made a fine conductor of magical energy, and his parting gift from his mentor Refla, _Azure Wind, _was nothing less than a master piece. Tai felt as though he could channel an endless current of power through the blade without having to worry that it might break.

From left to right he swung the sword horizontally. A bright blue crescent of energy shot toward the oncoming wave of undead warriors. Ice cascaded around their skeletal bodies bringing the vast majority of them to an abrupt stop. The few that avoided the attack continued to surge forward, only to be met by the cold steel of Tai's sword. As it turned out, head's were much easier to decapitate without flesh to surround and protect their necks.

To his left Paige continued to march slowly yet steadily backwards, using her magic to wreak havoc among the skeletal ranks. Her pistol was held out in front of her in both hands. Any skeleton that managed to escape her continuing barrage of explosions was picked off with a head shot. Constantly hitting moving targets in such a small area as the head was an impressive feat not lost to Tai. "Nice shooting!" Tai yelled in encouragement as another skull burst into fragments, the rest of the body dropping to the earth. "I think you might just be a better shot than Flare!"

A smile flashed across her mouth as she kept her focus on the advancing enemy. "He's good?"

"He's good," Tai confirmed sending another crescent of ice magic into the horde. "Much better than me anyway, but I doubt he could make as many consecutive headshots as you're doing."

"Oh, and what are you doing watching my shooting technique? Don't you have zombies to fight?" she said teasingly.

Tai felt his cheeks go slightly red. "Um, well, you know. I'm good at keeping my eye one my surroundings during battle."

Paige laughed briefly before her face grew serious. "But I don't think my shooting's doing enough to stop them. We're losing ground."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "We are." A quick swing took a skeleton in the chest, shattering its ribs and sending it flying back. Paige was absolutely right. They had been on a slow retreat since the fight began. Holding the line they were not, but at least they had been able to significantly slow the undead advance, giving their friends time to fight their own battle.

"I'm wearing down Tai," Paige said her voice sounding not only weary but a touch desperate as well. "I'm not sure how much longer my magic can hold out."

Again Tai sent a crescent of ice magic into the nearest skeletons. This one weaker than the last. She was right on that account as well. They were losing ground at a quicker pace as their magic was slowly being exhausted. "They can't last forever!" Tai called back. "There's only a limited amount of corpses on this island, eventually they'll stop coming and we can help Flare and the others!"

The fight going on behind them was raging on in full force, and Tai could only speculate on what was going on by the sounds, mostly explosions, a little bit of ringing that sounded like steel on steel but different somehow, and was that gunfire? It was a little hard to tell with Paige's own explosions drowning out some of the noise.

As Tai began recharging his blade the skeleton closest to him staggered drunkenly before falling to the earth in a heap. Tai withheld his attack as he watched the other skeletons fall into the same pattern. First they would stagger, and then they would fall. Unmoving. Defeated?

"What's going on?" Paige asked as she ceased her explosive onslaught.

"I don't really know," Tai admitted. "Maybe Xavius's spell ran out…or…Flare killed him?"

Within moments the undead threat had unexpectedly ended, the last of the skeletons collapsing onto a pile of its fallen comrades. Tai turned toward the fight behind him, his eyes widening in alarm. "Dammit! Flare!"

Paige spun around and gasped.

"Can you hit…it?" Tai stammered.

"Not at this distance, I'd be just as likely to hit Flare," Paige answered.

"Dammit!" Tai swore as he broke off into sprint. "Dammit all! Don't you die, Flare!"

* * *

Once or twice in his life Flare had been wrong.

Once he had thought it would be a good idea to skip class with Tai, that had landed the two of them in trouble not only with his teachers and the people at the orphanage, but with Gina as well. Another time he had thought that by singeing Xavius a little bit with fire magic he was the proverbial cat scratching the dog on the nose. No, he had been wrong there too. Giving the sorcerer a nice deep cut with a razor sharp katana? Now _that_ made him the proverbial cat. Only instead of being ripped to shreds by a dog he was being simultaneously crushed and strangled by something that had only a few seconds ago appeared to be human.

After his initial surprise attack Flare had gotten in two more cuts before the first began to close. It wasn't just a rapid healing of the flesh, that would have been troublesome enough, but instead the area around the wounds had changed. Changed from regular looking human skin to something black and shiny, like polished steel or glass. The same look as Xavius's hair and eyes.

The blackening didn't stop at the wounds though, it spread across the sorcerer's entire body. Around that time his - no - its limbs began to elongate into writhing tentacles. Several others burst forth from the thing's abdomen, and in short order the nightmare that had been Xavius had Flare wrapped up in its powerful limbs. _Crimson Eon _hung useless to the side; Flare's right arm was pinned to his body by a black apendage that was squeezing him tight enough that his ribs threatened to break. Flare had been lucky enough to get his left arm up to his neck before a second tentacle could fully makes its way around his head, keeping him from being instantly strangled. This way Flare was only being slowly strangled.

More of the tentacles wrapped around his body crushing him even tighter. Desperately Flare reached for his magic only to find that it was being blocked. Skin to skin contact with the nightmare was doing something to his ability to call forth magic, suppressed it in some way Flare didn't quite understand. It was like trying to pick up his sword only to find that its weight had been multiplied many times over.

Not being able to move, able to use magic, able to even breathe, Flare felt a wave of panic and despair falling over him. His vision began to grow dark. Soon what he could see had been whittled down to a thin tunnel. In that tunnel was a nightmare that had been, or perhaps still was Xavius. A nightmare that was only moments away from forever ending his life.

* * *

Thunder clouds swirled above the battlefield. Randall knew the limitations of his own magical strength, and if he wanted to have a chance at doing any real damage to the beast he would need an outside energy source. Xavius had said that its natural armor caused magic to have little effect, but from the fight so far, it appeared to Randall that physical attacks had no effect whatsoever. Having _little effect _would actually be an improvement.

The magical attacks Randall had used so far had been as ineffective as his physical ones, so he began to gather the nearby clouds together, condensing them into a miniature thunder storm. Now that the extra energy was gathered all he had to do was call it down. Raising the _Masamune _above his head he reached out with his magic into the heart of the storm. A bolt of lightning tore down from the heavens slamming into the outstretched magical blade. Randall's own magic joined with the outside power causing the _Masamune_ to glow like a small star.

With a howl of fury Randall swung the blade down towards the beast. The bolt of energy that erupted from the _Masamune's_ blade was less lightning and more like raw power. The flash of impact temporarily blinded Randall so that he couldn't immediately see the results of the attack. Once is eyes readjusted he realized that the beast had been tossed nearly twenty feet through the air and was now flat on its back.

"Randall kill beast?" Wroff wondered out loud.

In answer to the caveman's question the hulking red monster pushed itself to its feet. Alive, but not unscathed. Across its crimson chest it bore a jagged crack a foot long that glowed with an inner silvery light. The beast's alien howl was different than before. Higher pitched. Pained.

"I hurt it," Randall said more to himself than his companion, "and if it can be hurt it can be killed."

Raising the _Masamune _above his head he prepared to gather the last of the storms power. His initial attack had used up most of the power already, but with any luck he could gather enough to puncture the injured area. This was their last best chance at achieving a death strike. The beast began to charge him, warbling a cry of pure rage. Randall started to reach out to the storm once again, when the beast suddenly staggered to the side.

Randall paused. This was unusual. Not that he had a very good idea on what usual behavior for this kind of creature was, but the way it staggered around violently shaking its elongated head as though trying to shake off a bug was somehow wrong. The beast stopped its erratic shaking, becoming suddenly very still. Then it turned its head to its right, away from him and Wroff, and let out another alien cry of rage. The beast broke off into one of its too fast charges in that direction, forgetting Randall and Wroff completely.

Looking in that direction Randall saw the beast's target. Flare was entangled by a swarm of tentacles originating from a body that looked vaguely human in shape. The core of the creature was the height of a human and towards the top its shape narrowed down to what could have been a neck before widening into what could have been a head. There were no features where the face would have been, just a smooth surface. The whole of the creature was a deep black that shimmered coldly in the sun. The body did not have defined legs, but instead had a swirl of root like appendages fixing it to the earth like a gnarled tree from the depraved mind of a lunatic. From its trunk several tentacle like limbs extended outwards, all of which were wrapped around Flare, violently crushing him to death.

On the blade of Flare's sword, still gripped in his right hand, was the dark red stain of fresh blood. Seeing the blood caused Randall to understand the bizarre scene. Flare had managed to hurt Xavius, probably severely, instead of dying the sorcerer had transformed into the creature that was now killing Flare, but Xavius had lost power either because of the wound or the transformation. That loss of power had caused him to lose control of the beast, which decided to seek revenge on the one responsible for enslaving it.

Fail safes must have been emplaced on the creature, because before getting a third of the way to its destination the beast began to sink back into a circular crimson hole, much like the one it had come from. The beast was no longer a threat, but if they didn't get to Flare fast he would die. Randall started that way and stumbled. With a curse he realized that his ankle was twisted, he could still stand and walk on it, but he'd never make it to Flare in time.

Wroff was already sprinting to Flare's aid, but their fight with the beast had lead them further away from the fortress, while Flare's own battle had pushed him and Xavius down past the structure's far end. Randall was unsure of whether or not Wroff could cover that distance with enough time to make a difference. Likewise Tai and Paige were running from an angle almost perpendicular to Wroff's, but they were even further away than the caveman.

Reaching his magic back into the storm Randall considered sending the bolt of lightning down onto Xavius, but quickly decided against it. That would just as likely kill Flare as it would help him.

Then Randall saw another figure moving. Having regained consciousness the white haired form of Kyui Wara moved like a blur toward the transformed Xavius, slowing briefly to dip down and pluck a single scimitar from the ground. Randall almost sent the last of the storms energy down on the assassin, but he noticed something. Flare was not a threat to Xavius, so it would make no sense for Kyui Wara to go straight for the sorcerer if his intention was to lend aid. Instead he would have intercepted Wroff, and after cutting the big man down moved in to stop Tai and Paige.

Kyui Wara was not moving in to help Xavius. He was going to attack him, and he was the closest and fastest by far. Flare's best chance to survive was the assassin.

Randall made a decision as the man he hated most raised the single scimitar above his head and leaped in to attack. Every part of Randall's being wanted to strike the man down. To kill him and get his vengeance once and for all. Instead he sent the assassin aid. A lightning bolt containing the last of the storm's useable power shot down from the heavens onto Kyui Wara's scimitar, charging its blade with elemental fury as he drove it down into their common enemy.

* * *

What little remained of Flare's eyesight dwindled further. All that remained was a vague shape that was the nightmare creature, nothing but an image blacker that the rest of the dark void his eyes vaguely recognized as light. Then there was a flash so brilliant that Flare thought for a moment that something inside him had snapped, that the abomination before him had broken his body is some irreparable way. Was it his back? His neck? Was this simply the light people claimed that you saw before you died? If Flare was dying he wished that his life would hurry up and flash before his eyes. Then at least he'd get to spend a little bit more time with all of his friends before it was all over, a little bit more time with Gina…

The flash of light broke through some of the darkness, illuminating the form of a man. A man with long hair who held a curved sword that was wreathed in lightning. The curved blade hit the nightmare on its right side, coming down in the area that might have been were Xavius's shoulder and neck would have met.

There was an immediate sensation of relief as the crushing pressure around Flare's body and neck relaxed. Flare pulled in a harsh, desperate, painful, _rapturous_ breath, and felt his body sing in relief. As air filled his lungs flooding his body with sorely needed oxygen his vision began to creep back. The muddy edges of darkness pulled back allowing Flare to better watch the white haired man, who he now recognized as Kyui Wara, viciously fight against the tentacles that were now targeting him. Time slowed to a gelatinous crawl. All he was aware of was the assassin's savage fight and his own fight. A fight where he was helpless to do anything but breathe. A fight to stay alive, where every breath, no matter how small, was a joyous, painful struggle.

The struggle became suddenly and dramatically easier as the pressure around his neck unexpectedly vanished. Sucking in as much air as his lungs could hold Flare swiveled his now free neck to his right where he saw the looming form of Wroff prying nightmarish tentacles away from his body. Blood dripped from several large cuts running down the caveman's chest, and his muscles strained with all of their impressive might. His face was set in savage mask of fury, and he looked to be growling, although, all Flare could hear was the thunderous beating of his own heart.

From his peripheral Flare noticed a glint of motion, followed by a release in pressure around his abdomen as a tentacle went slack and dropped away. He turned toward the glint's direction and saw Tai hacking relentlessly at the mass of tentacles. Then Flare noticed that he was dropping. Being lowered to the ground as his friends freed him from nightmare that had come uncomfortably close to extinguishing his life.

He dropped unsteadily to his knees, wobbling and avoiding total collapse only by the aid of Paige who had materialized next to him. The glistening black mass now focused its efforts on the newcomers, deciding that Flare was no longer a substantial threat. A shimmer ran through the nightmares black surface. Flare blinked and continued to stare at it as Paige helped him to his feet and lead him away from the monster's reach.

The shimmer ran through it again, and Flare froze in place. It was preparing _something_, and he was willing to bet that he didn't want to know what that something was. Everyone was too close to it. After a third shimmer Flare understood just enough of the magic at work to realize that everything in its immediate surroundings would die when a fourth shimmer came. There was no time to retreat. It was about to kill them all. The nightmare would kill them. _Xavius _would kill them. Unless Flare killed it, killed him, first.

_Crimson Eon _weighed heavily in his right hand. Looking down Flare realized that he had had such a death grip on the weapon that it hadn't fallen from his hands.

Praying that his legs wouldn't give out like the jelly that they felt like, Flare lunged forward, breaking out of Paige's grasp. In one clean movement Flare drove his katana through the black core of Xavius's inhuman form. "Everyone!" he barked, surprised by the strength of his own voice. "Get back! Now!" From his peripheral he thought he saw the forms of his friends and allies begin to move. If they were too close he'd end up killing them, even if Xavius didn't. "Farther!"

All of the magic that had been suppressed by the grip of Xavius's black tentacles was back at his command. Without the time to waste he tossed subtlety to the wind and poured every last ounce of his power into _Crimson Eon._ The sword's steel blade drank the power up, focusing it into a single point.

The fourth shimmer began.

Flare released his power.

* * *

The flash of lightning and crash of thunder brought him to his senses. Refla pulled himself off the ground and forced himself into a standing position, ignoring the sharp pain that cut through his left leg. Next to that it was easy to ignore the throbbing of the rest of his battered body.

In front of him a monster the color of midnight was killing one of his students. Refla watched as a group of people swarmed the monster and freed its victim. The three men, including his other student and the white haired man he had just fought, battled the monster's flailing limbs as a young woman with short blonde hair helped Flare retreat.

Then, without warning Flare lunged straight back into the monster, running it through with his katana. The young man shouted something that wasn't quite discernable from the distance, but from the tone was easily identified as a command. The four people surrounding the monster fell back, and then with increasing urgency moved even further away.

The next instant a pillar of solid flame connected the earth with the heavens. Its radius was just large enough to completely engulf Flare and the monster, but it easily rose several hundred feet into the air. Refla absently wondered if anyone on the mainland was watching the display, wondering what it was that they were looking at. A wave of air pressure tossed Tai and the others backwards, leaving them to franticly scramble away from the inferno. An understandable reaction by Refla's humble estimate. The air around the blazing pillar was distorted by waves of heat causing the whole scene to shimmer with a dream like quality, and the heat was intense even at Refla's distance. The others had a very limited set of choices. Scramble away or be cooked.

Refla squinted at his student's impressive display of power. He himself hadn't been able to use magic for decades, but he still remembered the incredible high that came along with being able to summon such hellfire down on an enemy. The pillar of flame was uncomfortably bright, like looking directly at the sun, but he made himself watch his student's handiwork.

The pillar raged for only a matter of seconds before vanishing completely leaving the two combatants standing on a patch of scorched earth. At first glance it looked as though the situation had not changed. Flare was still in the same position with his sword through Xavius's inhuman body. Its tentacle like limbs stood still, holding the exact same pose they had been in before the flame. It was almost like a frozen slice of time. There was a difference though. The sun no longer glinted off of Xavius's black form. The glossy black of polished steel had been replaced with the flat black of charcoal.

Flare dropped to his knees, keeping himself propped up by sticking _Crimson Eon's _blade into the blackened earth, as the devastated body of his enemy crumbled to ash.


	27. Reunion

**Chapter 27: Reunion  
**

Refla watched as Flare's companions cautiously approached him. The white haired man instead continued toward Refla, or more likely toward his sister, once he had watched Xavius crumble away. Joining the others, a tall man with dark hair held in a ponytail limped along, having been too far away from the inferno to have needed to retreat.

A wave of blue light radiated from Tai's outstretched hand, the magic just strong enough to cool the blistering earth, allowing him to approach his kneeling friend, but when Tai placed a hand on Flare's shoulders he instantly jerked it away as if burned. Flare himself appeared unharmed, if exhausted, by the self-induced fire. Slow and unsteadily he pushed himself up from his knees, using his katana like a staff to keep balanced.

Even with all of his comrades surrounding him Flare's gaze was fixed directly to his front. Suddenly he stumbled forward, threatening to tumble to the ground. Regaining his balance he again pushed forward. Confusion grew on the faces of Tai and the others, and they moved as one to catch up to Flare. The spiky haired young man moved on relentlessly, in a state of apparent obsession that left him unaware of his friends and their worried questions.

Unhinging the scabbard from his waist Refla returned his own katana to it and followed the example of his student by using it as a walking staff to relieve the pressure from his injured leg.

By the time the injured warrior reached the group they had gathered around a small floating orb that crackled with electricity. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Flare swore as he waved the small blue stone in front of the orb. "Why won't it open?"

"Flare, calm down. What's going on?" Tai asked in confusion as his friend snarled in frustration.

"Gate's been damaged," Refla said as he approached. "Ye'll not be openin' it any time soon."

Flare and the others spun around in response to his voice. "Refla?" Flare said in surprise. "So that was you I saw before, but what are you doing here? What do you mean damaged? Can we fix it? We have to fix it!"

"Slow down," Refla grunted. "Ye'll hurt yerself askin' so many questions so fast."

"It's important," Flare retorted.

"I'm sure it is," Refla fired back. "But right now there's nothin' to be done about it, so why don' ye show yer manners an' introduce me to yer friends here. Then I'll answer yer questions. Rushin' won' help anythin', especially when there isn't anythin' to rush."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself and steady his thoughts Flare nodded to his master's words. "Right. Sorry. These are the people who've been helping me and Tai hunt Xavius. This is Randall, from about four hundred years ago, Paige from about a thousand years from now, and Wroff from, well, a very long time ago."

"Me name's Refla, pleased to make yer acquaintance," Refla said to the trio. "Thanks fer helpin' out me two students here." He turned back to Flare. "Now fer yer questions. I got wind that somethin' unusual was happenin' out on this island. Knowing what I did about that Xavius havin' used a Gate here, I came to investigate. I fought the cocky, if skilled, young man with the white hair, and tried to take out the sorcerer before he could finish his magic. I was too late, got knocked out, an' came to just in time to see ye cook his greasy arse."

"Whoa," Tai interjected. "You fought Kyui Wara? Who won?"

Refla cast a incredulous look at his pupil. "Who do ye think? Punk had talent no denyin' that, but it'll be decades before he's experienced enough to think about beatin' me."

"The Gate," Flare said. "What about the Gate?"

With a sigh Refla turned back to his other pupil. "Did I not jus' say to quit bein' impatient? Look, the Gate ain't broke. But it is damaged, like I said. That sorcerer probably didn't want ya goin' through it, so he tried to take it out. Didn't use enough juice though, so it's not completely destroyed, just a little banged up. It'll fix itself in time."

"How long?" Flare asked.

"Why not just seal it off like he did in Zeal?" Tai asked.

"Mmmm." Refla rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Why break it instead of seal it? I'm no wizard and my knowledge of Gates is superficial at best, but I'd guess time restraint, or maybe lack of power. He looked pretty busy with all of ye at the end there. As fer how long til it can support travel again? I'd say three days at least, no more'n a week."

"A week?" Repeated Flare.

"Maybe by tomorrow mornin' it could support a single person, but they'd need significant magical strength to shield em, otherwise the damaged Gate'd rip em to shreds. Before mornin' though and it won' even open. Of course why risk sendin' one of ye, before it's safe? Ye killed the sorcerer didn' ye? Whatever he was hidin' behind there'll hold fer a little while."

Flare simply stared at the Gate, a look of deep consideration painted on his face.

"Besides," Refla continued gruffly, "don' ye have somethin' more immediate to take care of? Maybe a damsel in distress ye just nearly died to save, ye single minded dolt?"

Comprehension snapped into Flare's eyes replacing the haze of frustration and doubt. For a moment he looked surprised. "Gina!" he said.

Refla shook his head as the young man rushed off again, his exhaustion doing little to slow him down. "Truly single minded that one."

The young blonde woman had a similar reaction squeaking, "Penny," as she took off. When the rest followed after them, Tai remained behind.

"Master, if I may ask…how do you know everything you do? I mean about time travel and magic? How do you know what a broken Gate is even like? You said your knowledge was superficial, but compared to the rest of us your like some kind of mysterious sage."

Refla chuckled. "Sage huh? Well, it's true that there's a lot about me that I haven't told the two of ye." He sighed tiredly before continuing, "I suppose I'll need to tell ye everythin', guess I have no choice, but how about ye grant this old man a little time to get it straight in his head. Once things have settled down a little I'll tell ye both everything."

"Right." Tai nodded at Refla's words. "You're hurt. Both your left arm and leg are being favored heavily."

"Yeah, they're both broke," Refla agreed, "Arm's worse though."

"Broke?" Tai said startled. "How are you even standing?"

"Must be my sagely constitution," the old man replied with a grin.

Tai just gaped for a moment before saying, "I think I can heal you."

Refla quirked an eyebrow at him. "Heal?"

"Right," said Tai, "with magic. I've been doing a little experimenting, and I've figured out how to fix small injuries, in theory I could also heal larger ones. I don't think the others can, but it might be because my innate element is water. You know how they say people are made mostly of water? Anyway, watch this."

Tai showed him his right palm that was burnt an angry red from where he had touched Flare's shoulder. He brought his left palm up to it as if praying, and a gentle blue light passed between the left hand to the right. In seconds the red subsided, replaced with healthy unburned skin.

"I'll be fine," Refla said with a nod toward the main group. "Heal em first. One o' them girls' been hurt too."

Tai shook his head. "That may be, but…"

"But?" Refla asked.

"But I've never tried it on anything as serious as a broken bone before," Tai finished.

"An' ye'd like to use old Refla as a guinea pig?" Refla asked wryly.

"Well, no not exactly," Tai stammered. "I mean…it's just…"

"Fine," Refla said, "but only me leg. The arm can wait until ye've healed everyone else."

* * *

Flare dropped to a knee beside Gina and stopped his hand short of coming into contact with her head. Flare had been distracted before, but it seemed that Tai had burnt his hand when he had touched him earlier. Flare himself didn't feel like he was surrounded by any scorching heat, but if it was born of his own magic then there was a possibility that he wouldn't notice it himself.

The grass was still covered in dew. Flare grabbed two fistfuls of the damp vegetation a wrung his hands together. Hoping the wet grass had been sufficient in cooling his hands, he gently brushed the hair aside from Gina's face and did a quick once-over of her body, checking for any sign of injuries.

Flare sighed in relief. She seemed fine. No bleeding or broken bones. No cuts or burns or any other form of harm. Gina was alive and breathing and more beautiful than Flare had remembered. When her eyes slowly began to open he realized that he was smiling like a mad man. A teary eyed madman that probably didn't look anywhere as cool as any storybook hero who had just saved a damsel in distress would look. Sometimes real life wasn't very fair.

"Flare?" she said sleepily, as if waking from nothing more than a simple dream. A smile formed on her lips as she looked up at him.

Sometimes real life was just fine.

"Don't worry," Flare said, not even making an attempt at heroic bravado, not even caring that his voice was cracking under the emotion. "I've got you now."

"I...I don't understand," she said. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, I didn't know how much you'd remember," Flare said. "You were kidnapped by this man, this sorcerer, named Xavius, but I've got you so don't worry about any of that right now, and I promise I'll explain everything."

"Not that," Gina said. "I remember being taken by Xavius, even if it's really kind of blurry, no I mean your hair."

"My hair?"

"Yes, your hair. I don't understand. What's going on with your hair?"

Reflexively Flare's hand went to his head and touched the great wild spikes that crowned his head. "Oh, that." Flare burst into a fit of laughter. "I almost forgot. My hair, yeah, my hair."

Gina shook her head. "You're such a goof."

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Her smile never fading she flung her arms around him as tears began to sparkle in her blue gray eyes. "But you're my goof." Her arms tightened around him. "And my hero."

"Always will be."

She laughed into his chest. "Don't try to act so cool."

Flare gently laughed in turn as he squeezed her to him as hard as he dared. "Heroes are supposed to act cool."

Gina pulled away and quickly placed her hand over his forehead. "Hero or not you're burning up. Are you sick?"

"Wait," Flare said, "you're not supposed to be the one worried about me right now."

"Well, if I don't look after you who will?"

They sat in silence for a moment before she pressed her lips against his in a slow kiss. "That silly hair cut actually suits you pretty well, hero."

Flare laughed again before engaging in another even more passionate kiss. Despite what the others believed, everything wasn't completely over yet, but for now he didn't want to think on anything other than Gina. He just wanted to hold her safely in his arms, to continue kissing the girl of his dreams, the girl he hadn't known whether or not he'd ever see alive again.

The embrace lasted a few more moments before the sounds of reality crept back into their world. "I think she'll be okay," Tai's voice was saying, not far from their position. "My magic mended the worst of the break and got rid of most of the pain, but she'll still need to go easy on that arm until it fully heals."

"Thank you, Tai," Paige said, emotion welling up in her voice. "Penny, wake up. Can you hear me? It's Paige."

"Other girls," Gina said to Flare. "Everything's pretty hazy, but I remember that…man, Xavius was getting other girls. Did you save them to? Is everyone that horrible man took safe?"

"Of course," Flare said grinning. "What kind of hero would I be if I didn't save all the girls?"

Gina smiled back. "That big hair really suits that big head."

"Seriously though," Flare said suppressing a chuckle. "I couldn't have done it without Tai and the others."

"Others?"

"Right. We got help from some other people we met as we chased Xavius through time."

Gina shook her head. "Time travel. It really could have all been a dream. It wasn't though was it?"

"As unbelievable as it sounds, it's real. Time travel. Magic. All of it." Flare motioned toward the blonde girl leaning over an unconscious girl who was identical in everything save the length of her hair. "That's Paige. We met her a thousand years into the future. Xavius had taken her twin sister, Penelope."

Pointing to the biggest man Gina had ever seen Flare said, "He's Wroff, a caveman from way back in the day." The bloody and bruised giant smiled down at her, looking simultaneously frightening and friendly.

"And the last of our new friends is Randall, a knight, or ex-knight I guess, from the Mystic War." Flare looked around, locating the man, and then he fell abruptly silent.

Randall had returned the _Masamune _to its sheath and instead held his small but deadly hand axe in his right hand, while angry sparks of lightning danced around his left fist. His gray eyes were thunderclouds promising nothing short of death, his face was a mask of palpable fury and hate. In front of him stood a lean man with snow white hair who held a single curved sword his right hand. Slowly he raised both arms up and to the sides, letting the single scimitar drop harmlessly to the ground. "I guess our game is done," he said with only a hint of an arrogant smile on his face. "No matter the difference in our skill all you need to do is strike me down with your newfound magic. Looks like you'll get your vengeance after all, Randall of the Square Table."

"What's going on?" Gina whispered. "That white haired man, I remember him, he was with me and the others. Who is he?"

"That's Kyui Wara," Flare replied. "He's an assassin who killed Randall's brother. I think he might have been helping Xavius because of his sister, who was one of the girls he took."

"Wait!" Flare turned to see the assassin's sister stand up from where she had been laying next to the other girls.

"Stay back," Kyui Wara commanded. "This does not concern you Riiza."

Before anyone could make a move to stop her, the frail girl ran with surprising quickness in front of her brother. "Please!" she pleaded to Randall. "Please, don't do this."

"Your brother is right, girl. This doesn't concern you. Move if you value your life," Randall said with disconcerting calm in his voice.

"Get out of the way," Kyui Wara said as he grabbed his sister's wrist and tried to toss her to the side. The girl angrily spun around as he touched her and slapped him hard in the face.

"Don't tell me to move!" she screamed at her brother as tears fell from her amber eyes. "He's going to kill you! Don't you understand that?"

"Of course I do!" he snarled. "I also understand that I've spent my life purchasing enemies by my own actions and with my own blades! I will not let you die for what I freely chose to do!"

Riiza spun back to face Randall. "Please, I know what my brother has done is both terrible and wrong, and I don't expect you to forgive him, but please don't kill him."

"Your brother is a murderer," Randall said, his face hard, "but I wish you no harm. Do as he says and move from my way, unless you wish to pay for his crimes as well."

Desperately the girl turned to face Flare. "Please, help me. Don't let him kill my brother."

With a miserable sigh Flare's eyes lowered to the ground. He felt bad for the girl, but the fact remained that her brother had murdered countless people, many perfectly innocent, for nothing more than money. If Kyui Wara lived he'd likely continue to kill even more people. Flare couldn't ask Randall to spare the man, no matter how bad he felt for the assassin's sister. Even still, he knew that Randall might never forgive himself if he killed an innocent in order to achieve his revenge. "Wroff," Flare said in an even voice, "please move her out of harm's way."

The big man nodded solemnly and approached the crying girl, easily lifting her small frame with his massive arms and walked away from Kyui Wara as she frantically thrashed and screamed to be let free.

"Thank you," the assassin said looking first to Wroff and then to Flare. "Please see that she gets back safely." He turned to face Randall once again. "Also thank you for not simply killing my sister in order to punish me. You have more honor than I ever did. Now finish this."

"I've forsaken whatever honor I once had, long ago," Randall said. "I simply choose not to kill those who don't deserve it." His fist uncurled so that he pointed at Kyui Wara. The electricity around his hand gained intensity as he gathered his remaining magic for the killing blow.

"Wait!" Riiza screamed in desperation. "My brother isn't just a simple murderer, he's an assassin! Someone had to have hired him! If you kill him you'll never know who really wanted your brother dead! You'll never know who's really to blame!"

Randall grunted without taking his eyes off Kyui Wara. "I know very well what your brother is, besides it's no secret who his client was. I'll be spending the rest of my life dealing with the mystics."

"No, you're wrong!" Riiza cried. "My brother's never accepted a single coin of mystic gold in his life! Not one coin!"

To Flare's surprise this spurred an instant response in Kyui Wara. He spun to his sister and snapped, "Shut up!"

Randall's eyebrows furrowed as he watched the reaction. "Is this true?"

"It doesn't matter who hired me," Kyui Wara said. "I've never divulged who my clients were. I killed your brother, so kill me and be done."

"Don't be a fool!" Riiza shouted at her brother. "What does it matter if you tell him whoever it was that hired you? Does it really matter if your reputation gets ruined? If you don't tell him he'll kill you!" The girl's thrashing stopped, and she went limp in Wroff's arms. "Please," she sobbed. "Just tell him whatever he needs to know, so you won't have to die. Please…"

"Is this true," Randall repeated.

"Does it even matter?" Kyui Wara asked. "You'll kill me anyway."

Randall's face twisted with inner conflict. He looked over at the assassin's sister as she continued to sob wordlessly, then back to Kyui Wara himself. "If you did tell me, how would I even know if you spoke the truth? How could I trust your poisoned words?"

"I'd speak truth," Kyui Wara said quietly, looking over at his sister, "and I could offer proof. I've always hidden damning evidence, so that I could use it against any clients foolish enough to attempt blackmail."

A long moment stretched out where no one spoke. Riiza's crying was the only noise as Randall continued to stare at Kyui Wara, his hand still glowing with deadly power. "If you wish to live speak."

The assassin looked at his sister again, and then sighed as he turned back to Randall. "Very well, It seems that if I don't tell you, I may never have my sister's forgiveness. The man who hired me to kill your brother was one of your fellow knights. His name is Geoffrey Waterchild."

"You lie," Randall said as surprise broke through his mask of rage. "Sir Geoffrey would never have done something like that. My brother and I thought of him as a favorite uncle."

"He was jealous of you and your brother's rise to fame and status," Kyui Wara replied calmly. "With the war going on the two of you would have eclipsed him in a few short years. Taken the rank and status he had tried to achieve his entire life out from under his nose. I believe he knew that you would be hot headed enough to pursue me, so he only contracted the killing of your brother. The proof is hidden inside of large lightning burnt oak, about a hundred yards behind the Cathedral near the castle. "

Shaking with rage the former knight struggled to form the words of his threat, "If this is a lie…"

"It is not," Kyui Wara said simply. "Take the proof and expose the man who betrayed you, and even if you spare me, my career as an assassin shall be over. With a scandal of such proportions everyone who's ever hired me will learn that I've betrayed a client."

For a moment Flare thought Randall was going to kill Kyui Wara anyway, but then the tension in the ex-knights shoulders vanished, along with the lightning in his hand. He stood silently as he rubbed his temple with his free hand, a pained expression on his face.

Wroff looked over to Flare who gave him a single nod. The big man released Riiza who instantly rushed to her brother's arms. The newly retired assassin looked just as exhausted as Randall as he comforted his still crying sister.

"Well then," Refla said as he limped over to Flare and Gina. "Now that we've decided not to be killin' each other, I say we should be gettin' off this damned isle. It's far too creepy a place to hold a proper reunion."


	28. One Day for Celebration

**Chapter 28: One Day for Celebration**

The rest of that day passed as though it were a dream. Both timeless and over in an instant.

The time Gate inside of Fort Ratcleff had been damaged in the same fashion as the new one Flare had spotted, whatever Xavius had done apparently had effected any Gate in the area. This had left everyone temporarily stranded in the year 981, and now the Ashtear house was overflowing with people, both friends and strangers, but Taban and Lara were gracious hosts.

Gina's parents had traveled south to Porre, bringing with them what money they could gather in an attempt to find their missing daughter. Flare hoped the message Taban had commissioned to tell them that Gina had safely returned, reached them before they wasted their savings on a wild goose chase. Having left only recently meant that the message should reach them before they lost too much, but in the meantime Taban and Lara had wasted little time in throwing together a celebration.

The smell and taste of Lara's cooking overwhelmed Flare's senses for a time. _Hot food_, he thought, _how much I've missed hot home cooked food_! Despite the fact that she was cooking for over a dozen people, Lara managed to supply them with a near endless supply of the most delicious food Flare ever remembered tasting.

Kyui Wara politely thanked the Ashtears for their hospitality and ate mostly in silence, but Riiza, having recovered from the earlier trauma, happily talked and laughed together with Gina and the other girls. Flare supposed that after having been a hostage to Xavius for weeks and having her brother's life spared, she must have been feeling rather euphoric. Randall however, was in a slightly weird mood. The revelation that someone he had trusted was responsible for his brother's death had clearly unsettled him, and while he did converse a little with Flare and the others during the feast, he pointedly ignored Kyui Wara's very existence.

Paige and her sister Penny were as caught up in the celebration as anyone else. Penny took only a little time to adjust to the strange situation of finding herself a thousand years into her past, and turned out to be both sociable and likeable. Refla had placed her arm in a sling, but for the most part Tai's magic seemed to have done wonders in healing it.

The numerous minor injuries everyone had accumulated had all been dealt with by Tai on their way back to Truce. Now the stocky warrior healer was dividing his attention between the surplus of heavenly food and Paige, who Flare realized, had become quite attached to his best friend.

Veemoli's daughter had been relieved to hear that her father had survived his encounter with Xavius. Cassandra was shy by nature, but had found a friend in Riiza, despite the fact that she was visibly scared of her older brother. All in all she was dealing with the situation admirably, but Flare could tell she was a bit overwhelmed by the large group of diverse strangers she now found herself with.

Strangers like Wroff, who was constantly laughing in an uproarious manner as he consumed a completely ludicrous amount of food and boasted to anyone who would listen about various feats and adventures. The girls who had all just met him, as well as the Ashtears, found the larger than life cave man to be charming, if a little bit frightening. Refla got along with the caveman surprisingly well, with the two sharing stories like a couple of old war buddies.

Taban and Lara for their part took the true story surprisingly well. Even if all the details about time traveling and evil sorcerers made it seem like a silly, if elaborate, prank, even to Flare who had lived through it. Apparently the fact that Taban as an inventor had a great imagination, allowing him to accept even the most farfetched of stories, allowing that there was proof, without taking to shock or denial.

"Everyone gather up!" Taban declared once everyone had finally finished eating. "I have the perfect thing to commemorate this moment." He turned to Flare and Gina. "I worked out all the kinks while you guys were away, and now my camera's in perfect working order!"

"Wow," Paige said. "You made a camera? I guess they did first appear around this time period."

Taban positively beamed. "You mean they catch on? There are cameras in the future? You'll have to tell me how mine holds up."

It only took a few moments for everyone to get gathered. Taban insisted on having everyone who had been involved in the incident at Ratcleff Isle in the first picture. Refla finally gave way after Taban repeatedly shot down his attempted declinations. Even Kyui Wara was eventually forced in front of the picture taking device when his sister insisted.

Flare wrapped his right arm around Gina's shoulders and tried to look appropriately heroic, a feat which he felt considerably more confident in now that he was wearing a change of clothes that weren't completely trail worn. Tai stood to his left and said with a grin, "C'mon Flare, we've gotta pose nice and big for Taban's very first picture!" Flare returned the grin and raised his left arm, holding his forearm vertically and just raised above his shoulders. Tai did the same with his right arm, placing his forearm to Flare's. Their mentor snorted slightly at the pose causing Tai to say, "We've got to look victorious don't we?"

The stout man flushed slightly when Paige wiggled her way under his free arm. "It's got to be symmetrical right," she said trying to hide her own flush. Wroff let out a booming laugh from behind Flare as he kneeled down and scooped up Penny and Cassandra each in an arm and hoisted them into the air. The girls squealed in surprised as they were lifted into the air where they sat between his shoulders and forearms, one on each side as he posed like a circus strong man flexing his muscles. The girls braced themselves by holding onto his vertical forearms and laughed once the surprise faded.

Refla chuckled. "Ye takin' notes? That's how ye strike a pose." Tai grumbled under his breath a little at his mentor's teasing while everyone else laughed. Refla took his place on the end and decided to substitute any pose of his own with his standard scowl, while Randall stood between the old sword master and Paige. Riiza balanced the equation out by standing to Gina's right, with Kyui Wara making up the end on that side.

"Perfect!" Taban exclaimed as he made a couple of adjustments to the new camera, which now stood on a tripod and was all together much larger than the original. "Okay, everyone smile!"

Flare wasn't sure if Randall or Kyui Wara knew how to smile, let alone if his mentor did, but right then he couldn't help but to smile. There with his friends and Gina, for that moment he was truly and completely happy.

The camera flashed and Taban made a happy hissing noise Flare took as a victory cry of sorts. The device flashed several more times before Taban looked up from it, smiling from ear to ear, and announced, "I'm pretty sure it worked! We should know in an hour or two, but no, I'm certain it worked. I've tested it before now. Let's just say that in a couple of hours we'll actually be able to enjoy the picture!"

The day wore on, and Taban talked at length to Paige and Penny about the future. He was especially pleased to hear that his camera was actually far more advanced than most "ancient" cameras were supposed to be. The pictures did indeed come out of his ahead-of-its-time camera with surprising clarity.

Flare talked and laughed and enjoyed the day. Even if it was just a single day of celebration.

* * *

"The stars are beautiful tonight," Gina said. She and Flare were lying on a woolen blanket, facing the starry sky. The isolated spot of beach they had found was silent. The only noise was the rhythmic splashing of the ocean waves, and the only other light came from a lighthouse several miles to the south. Otherwise they were alone with the stars.

"They are," Flare agreed. He'd always enjoyed stargazing. Taban had told him that scientists believed that the stars were suns just like their own, only much farther away. Sometimes he'd look at them and think about other worlds, about what kind of wonderful or horrible things lived out there in the far reaches of space, where their own sun would look like nothing more than a tiny twinkling speck in the nighttime sky. Sometimes he'd look at them and think nothing at all. "But they're much more beautiful now that I've got you back."

"It was strange," she said softly. "In that trance, my emotions were muted as much as my mind was. I was still frightened, even if the emotion was distant, but through it all I believed in you. That you'd come for me and save me, even when I couldn't think clearly enough to know what I needed saving from." She squeezed his hand. "You've always dreamed of being a hero, and now you'll always be mine."

"I think all little boys dream of being a hero," Flare said with a smile. "Of course they don't realize just how scary it can be, especially when the person they want to save is so important to them. I've never felt more helpless and afraid than I did these past weeks. All I wanted was to make sure that you'd still get to live your own dreams, to stop that man from taking them from you."

"My dreams." Gina laughed and cuddled a bit closer to him. "I guess my only dream's been to fall in love with you and start a family."

"Family," Flare said wistfully. "I've never had a real family."

"You know," Gina said. "It's not too late to start."

"I guess it's not is it. I was going to ask you to marry me. At the end of the summer once I'd been accepted into the military and could support us."

"You were going to?" Gina asked mischievously. "You're not going to anymore?"

"That's…," Flare spluttered. "No, I mean, that's not what I…"

Gina squeezed his hand and pressed closer to him. "Yes."

"Oh," Flare said, suddenly at a loss for words.

"I just want to live a normal, peaceful life," Gina said. "With you. You'd be in the army, a knight of Guardia. Times are peaceful so you'd never be gone to war, but you still become famous as a defender of Truce. Everyone would love you. Me, the people of Truce, and of course our children."

"Children," Flare mused as he gazed up at the stars and listened to Gina talk.

"Of course, children," Gina said. "If we're getting married we'll have to have children."

"Of course," Flare agreed.

"And because you're my hero I'll even let you name our first," Gina continued. "Any thoughts, or would you go with something simple like Flare Jr.?"

"Hmm…," Flare thought out loud. "Nothing wrong with Flare Jr. I've always liked my name, but ever since this time traveling thing started I've thought about the name Chrono. I think it's another word for time."

"Chrono," Gina repeated to the nighttime air. "It does have a unique ring to it. How's it spelled?"

"Not sure," Flare admitted. "Probably just like it sounds, C-R-O-N-O."

"Crono," she said again. "I like it. As a boy's name anyway."

A long and peaceful moment passed under the starlit sky. Then Gina kissed him, and Flare kissed her back, then she whispered into his ear. "About that family, you know, it's not too soon to start."


	29. The End of Options

**Chapter 29: The End of Options**

Flare stood in the early morning sun, alone save for the damaged Gate and his guilt. He wished that he hadn't left Gina alone, after finally getting her back he didn't want to leave her side again. Ever. Unfortunately, his range of options were very limited. If he had told Gina, or Tai, or anyone for that matter, they would have tried to stop him, but this had to be done.

And it could only be done alone.

As the body that he had believed to be Xavius crumbled to ash, Flare had seen Xavius go through this Gate. He had looked slightly different true, the sorcerer's hair had been as white as bleached bone, but it _had_ been him. Flare was certain of it. Xavius had opened this Gate and then gone through it. Thinking back it seemed like there had been a slight ripple in the air as the sorcerer entered. It was probably the spell that had caused the damage to the Gates.

It would take at least three days before the Gate was fully functional, and that was three days too many. Xavius wasn't a god of time yet, and with any luck Flare might not be too late to stop him. Enough time had passed that one person should be able to go through the Gate now, as long as that person had strong enough magic to shield them. This meant that Flare was the obvious choice. He had left a note next to Gina when he left. It was short. He had explained the situation, asked her to forgive him, and told her how much he had loved her.

Flare looked over his shoulder, half hoping and half fearing to see his friends rushing toward him. No one was there. He was still alone. There wasn't any more time to waste. Flare thrust the blue time stone at the Gate and held his breath. A high pitched whistling filled the air for a moment, and then the Gate exploded into existence. It wasn't perfectly circular like the others he'd seen. It was more oblong and angled to one side. Red sparks of electricity crackled around the swirling vortex as it keened angrily in the early morning air. The noise hurt Flare's ears and he took a reflexive step away from the frightening thing.

Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves Flare dropped the time stone to the ground. He would leave it behind so the others could follow once the Gate became fully functional. Hopefully he'd be on the other side to greet them, get slapped by Gina and punched by Tai, scolded by whoever felt the need to scold him, and then go home.

Drawing _Crimson Eon_, Flare focused his thoughts around his body. Fiery tendrils of heat curled around his arms and spread to his torso, eventually covering his entire form in radiant red flame. Hoping the shield would hold and that he could handle what was on the other side, Flare jumped in.

* * *

Xavius sat propped up against a slab of broken concrete that jutted vertically out of the broken earth. His breathing was ragged and his once shimmering black hair was now a bleached white, as though the magic had been bled out of him, and in a way it had. Around him were the skeletons of large buildings not unlike those he had seen in the far future where he had acquired the girl who possessed the _Key of Fire_. Most of the buildings were wrecked and crumbling, great bars of steel protruding from ruined stone husks. Some of them were nothing more than piles of rubble, indistinguishable as the great buildings they had once been. This was a place of war. The earth and the buildings of man torn apart by man's own violence.

War never changed. Never ended. People fighting amongst themselves in numbers great or small. Whatever the weapons they used, stone, steel, magic, or weapons forged with future technology, the end result was always death and devastation. Though Xavius did have to admit that the sheer amount of destruction that had been wrought upon this place was impressive. He did not hate war, nor did he love it. It just was, and it would always be. Soon he could stop it. If he wished. Maybe he would for a time, or maybe he would create wars larger and more horrible than anyone could imagine. The power to do as he wished would soon be his.

Soon, but not yet. For the moment he sat unmoving in the expanse of ruined buildings. Twenty feet in front of him the small closed Gate hovered silently. It did not move. It had not moved in all the hours since he had emerged from it. He seriously doubted it would open, ever. With the last bits of his magical energy he had damaged it as he made his retreat. He wouldn't have even had enough power for that feat if his mind had not been enhanced by the _Chrono Key_. Its knowledge of the workings of time had allowed him to do maximum damage with minimum power.

The Gate would recover, but it might take days. By that time he would be gone. They could, of course, try to force it open earlier than that, but the result would likely be their death. He would never know if they tried, his side of the Gate would remain closed until the other sided was healed enough to let someone through. Still there remained a chance of them coming through. They had surprised him in the past, and he had suffered for it. Xavius cursed the young red haired man. Flare was his name. Flare would suffer for an eternity for the pain and insult he had brought upon him. All of those fools, everyone who had stood against him, would suffer. By killing his _Vindoppliqous Vessel _they had left him beyond weak.

The _Vindoppliqous Spell _was one of the forbidden magics. Not because of the risk the user faced when employing it, but because the spell required a human soul to use. Xavius did not remember the name of the man he had sacrificed in order to use the spell. It had been some commoner far too arrogant than his powers could afford him to be. The man had likely offended Xavius in some way, though how did not really matter. If it had not been him used as the sacrifice, it would have had to be someone else. That man's soul had spent years inside of Xavius's own, only to be used as the device needed to link Xavius's mind and body with that of the _Vindoppliqous Vessel. _When he had sensed the presence of Flare and the others he activated the prearranged spell and created a clone of sorts. A body like his in everyway and connected to his by the sacrifice's soul. This was a contingency for the unlikely event that he would be killed in battle. This way he could still fight using the full force of his magic through the _Vessel_, but if he 'died' his physical body could make a safe retreat.

Now Xavius was glad he had taken the weeks it had cost him to prepare the spell. It turned out that he had needed that contingency after all. The time spent fighting Flare as the _Vessel _was also spent preparing the final Gate. The Gate he had retreated through and now sat guarding. This Gate had brought him to the time and place where he could enter The Realm Beyond Time. He had not known where or when this place was before attaining the _Chrono Key_, for there had been no way of calculating its whereabouts. Even now it seemed as though the place and time were completely arbitrary. Still, this was the window in time where the _Key _could be used.

First he needed to recover. The consequences of a _Vindoppliqous Vessel _being destroyed were severe, if not permanent or fatal. Normally when one stopped using a _Vessel _it simply disappeared, and the remaining magic inside of it was returned to the user's body. The result was pain, the less magic that remained to return the greater the pain. When a _Vessell _was destroyed though, and no magic remained to return, the consequences were more than mere pain. Oh, there had been pain. Xavius had felt pain so terrible and great that it had almost broken his mind. It was all that he could do to finish the Gate and make his retreat. When the pain had passed, he was left without an ounce of magic remaining inside of him.

It was as though the part of his soul that could replenish magic had been closed off. This left him in a very delicate position. The worst part was that physical movement made the situation exponentially worse. His magic would recover, it just needed far more time to do so. If he moved or had run from this place where the Gate was, the place his enemies could find him if they came through, then it would take him weeks or even months to recover his magic, but if he didn't move much, just stayed next to this Gate and sat there meditating from the first instant the pain had receded, then his magic would come back in full in only a couple of days. Some of it had come back within hours. He was still weak, far to weak to cast more than one or two spells before the progress he had already made was reversed.

The Gate flickered, and Xavius's breath froze in his throat. No! This couldn't be! He felt like screaming in rage and frustration. It had been only a single day! One day and no more. It was impossible for the Gate to be opened so fast. Except if...Xavius's mind reeled, trying desperately to comprehend how they could all come through so soon. Then it struck him. They couldn't. The Gate could not support a full three travelers for at least two more days, but it might be stable enough to hold one, and if that one had strong enough magic to protect him he might even survive the journey. Xavius knew at once it was Flare. He was the only one strong enough to travel through the Gate in its current condition. If three of them had gone through, or one of the weaker ones had, then they would have died mid journey and this side would not be opening. It _was _opening though. Flare was coming. Xavius knew what he had to do and hoped his magic was not so weak that the attempt killed him, but he had no choice.

If he did not want to lose everything he had worked to achieve he had but one option.

* * *

Flare could tell something was very different from the moment he stepped into the Gate. The now familiar spinning sensation he had grown to expect was instead replaced with a violent vibration that shook his body to the core. As he focused on increasing the strength of his magical shield the vibration increased until his body grew numb with the sensation. The world pressed in around him, as though the entire universe had compressed into a single point with Flare in the very center.

Claustrophobia began to set in. Flare frantically tried to maintain his shield, but he could no longer tell if he was even using magic. He could no longer tell where his body ended and the rest of existence began. The world was reduced to an inaudible howl that threatened to shatter his skull. Flare fought against the swelling panic, but within the senseless state of chaos he could no longer be sure that he wasn't already dead.

No!

He was still thinking. His mind was still active. That meant he was alive. If he could just keep his mind active and not give in to hopelessness, then there was still a chance he would make it out.

The world vibrated harder. For a single moment Flare felt as though he was growing fuzzy, as though he was about to fade out of existence entirely. Then everything stopped and his stomach lurched. An incredible sensation of freefall overtook him, lasting only seconds before the world began to spin. That once nauseating sensation of time travel now felt completely normal and safe. Relief flooded through him, sanity had returned to the world. With the realization that he was not going to die inside of the Gate came a secondary thought: Xavius was on the other side. Maybe not directly on the other side but somewhere out there. Xavius was out there with the completed _Chrono Key_. If Flare didn't stop him now, then everything him and his friends had fought for would be for not. The fact that they'd saved Gina wouldn't mean anything if Xavius reached his goal.

Light and noise flooded his senses as Flare exited the Gate, landing on solid ground. Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered that he was in the future, in a place similar to where they had met Paige, only in ruins. This was secondary information. Where he was did not matter. What mattered was the man who stood in front of him. Slightly hunched over as though in pain. His hair was as white as Kyui Wara's, only it shimmered with an unnatural quality as though it was made of glass. His eyes, now a pale silvery color, shone with absolute hatred as he stood there snarling like an enraged beast.

In the moment it took Flare's mind to comprehend this, Xavius was already moving. With a primal growl the sorcerer lunged at Flare, forgoing the use of magic, viciously clawing towards his throat.

Flare's mind didn't have the time to react with magic, but his body had been trained for years to react to a threat. With his sword already drawn Flare lunged forward unleashing his own furious battle cry. _Crimson Eon _pierced Xavius's abdomen, the sorcerer's own weight impaling him upon the razor sharp blade. Even without time to react, Flare's aim was perfect, his katana cutting through vital organs and delivering a mortal blow.

Xavius's face contorted in agony and Flare saw in his eyes that he knew death had reached him. His forward momentum pushed his body down the length of Flare's katana, his hand groped impotently at Flare's neck, the fingers lacking the strength to do any harm.

Flare's mind swam in adrenaline. Everything had happened so fast that it all seemed anti-climatic. He had expected another duel of magic, one where he'd only have the slightest chance of surviving. Not once did Flare even dare to hope the battle would be this short and simple to win. Xavius powerless, desperate, attacking like a feral beast with a head on assault, a physical assault that couldn't possibly succeed.

Flare had won.

He had beaten Xavius! Everything was over! The man was dying rapidly now, his life bleeding out of his pale eyes as Flare watched. Jubilation exploded through Flare's mind for one beautiful instant.

The instant passed, and the world turned cold.

A chill like nothing Flare had felt in his life enveloped his body. Color fled the world leaving everything a sheet of gray. In stark horror Flare realized that Xavius's hands were still touching him. They lacked the strength to do any physical harm, but where they made contact with his skin, Flare could feel the magic pouring out of them. Flare tried desperately to push the man away, but he could not. Where Flare's hands touched Xavius's body they stuck. Flare stumbled backwards screaming in panic and terror as his mind exploded in pain. The two of them fell backwards into a small crater. Flare landed on his back with Xavius's body on top of his. The world faded into a pain and terror so great that it began ripping his mind apart. The sensation was not simple pain and fear. It was something alien. There was a wrongness to it that was beyond any worldly agony. All that he could do was scream.

Flare screamed until there was no longer any sound to prove that he was screaming. He screamed until there was no longer any pain to scream about.

Flare screamed up until the point that there was no longer a Flare to scream.


	30. The Setting Sun

**Chapter 30: The Setting Sun**

The Gate opened and Tai leaped out, sword at the ready. The place was still. Empty. Nothing but a war torn chunk of a future city. Then as his two companions appeared beside him, Tai saw it. A lone body only a dozen feet away, laying in a shallow crater that had hidden it from his sight momentarily. A surge of panic jolted his mind as he ran to the crater. "Flare!"

"Is it him?" Randall asked running to kneel by his side at the crater's mouth.

The initial panic left Tai and was replaced with a small yet welcome sense of relief. The body was not Flare's. "No, it's not him. I'm not sure who it is."

The body was that of a man, lean and fit, in life he would have been taller than Tai, but not as tall as Randall. Blood had pooled and dried, staining the charred earth a crusty brown around the body. His black clothing was stained from the blood both in the front and back, where something had torn clean through his body. Moving carefully Tai went down the craters shallow slope and removed the mop of white hair away from the man's face, gasping in recognition. "Randall, this is Xavius!"

Randall frowned down at the body. "Flare's note did mention that Xavius had looked different when he saw him leave through the Gate. So his hair really did turn white."

Tai nodded as he inspected the corpse. "This wound was made by a katana," Tai announced. "It's also right through some of his vital organs. This is too neat to be an accident. He was killed by Flare."

"I agree that is most likely." Randall stood and gazed off into the distance, taking in his surroundings. I don't sense anyone with magic nearby, but there was some powerful magic done at this spot, and someone with magic left here, probably days ago. I should be able to track them."

"Where would Flare have gone?" Tai wondered out loud. "He knew it would be a few days before we could reach him, so is it possible he just left to find water and food, knowing we'd be able to find him once we where able to come through?"

"It's possible," Randall said grimly, "but something feels wrong about this trail."

"What?" Tai asked.

Randall shook his head. "I don't know. We'll just have to track him down to find out." Turning, the ex-knight caught Veemoli's gaze. "Wizard Veemoli, I sense no immediate threats in the area, should I get the others?"

Veemoli nodded slowly as if thinking to himself. "Yes, yes, go and get everyone. It is safe enough right here."

Tai tossed the blue time stone up to Randall, who deftly caught it and returned through the Gate they'd just come through. "Veemoli," Tai said. "What's the matter? You look troubled."

"I am troubled," the wizard answered.

"Well, Xavius is dead. That much is for sure," Tai responded brightly. "Now all we need is to find out is if Flare's all right, but at least the major threat is gone."

"I'm not so sure," Veemoli said. "Yes, it appears that Xavius is indeed dead, and that is nothing if not the best of news, but where is the _Chrono Key_?"

"Could it have vanished when Xavius died?" Tai asked.

"No," Veemoli said at once. "If the _Chrono Key _could be eradicated by the death of its wielder, I would have committed suicide with the thing and have been done with it."

Tai stood up and left Xavius's corpse. "Do you think Flare could have it?"

"I'm not sure," Veemoli said. "It is possible, and somebody has it to be certain. The _Chrono Key_ does not have a mind of its own, it cannot simply sprout wings and leave a place of its own volition."

"Then Flare must have it," Tai said, trying to sound optimistic but struggling more and more as he saw how unsettled Veemoli was. "That might explain why Randall thought his magical trail felt weird, because Flare's currently in possession of the _Chrono Key_."

"Perhaps," Veemoli agreed, "but I cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong. What I cannot say, but I am almost certain of it nonetheless."

At that moment the Gate flared back to life as Gina, Kyui Wara, and his sister stepped through. Gina stood dizzy only a moment before running to Tai. "Is it true? Is that him?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, it's him alright. Looks like Flare managed to kill him, unfortunately we can't find Flare or the _Chrono Key_."

"What does this mean?" Kyui Wara demanded. "Did that boy steal the _Chrono Key _for himself?"

"Watch your tongue," Tai threatened coldly. "That 'boy' killed Xavius, saving both your ass and your sister's."

"A favor that does me no good if he plans on replacing Xavius with himself. I'll be just as dead if killed by the god Flare as I will be by the god Xavius."

"You bastard," Tai snarled. "You know nothing about Flare. Just because you'd stoop to the same level as Xavius doesn't mean he would."

"No?" Kyui Wara shot back. "Would he refuse the power of godhood just as he refused the power of magic? Men accept power so that they can achieve their own ends. Even if he starts out with noble intentions, power corrupts, and if he becomes a god of time I'm sure we'd all soon learn your friend's darkest truths once he realized that his power was without limits."

Tai made to move toward the assassin, but Gina caught his shoulder and kept him back. "Stop this both of you. Tai we know Flare wouldn't do anything to hurt us, god or not, so ignore Kyui Wara, and as for you," she said to the assassin. "Your worries are unfounded. If Flare chose to become a god in Xavius's place after killing him, he'd be a god right now, and we'd have known before we ever came here."

Giving a shrug of indifference Kyui Wara did not argue the point further. Turning away from them Gina began to look around. "I'm sure Flare's just holding the _Chrono Key_, since it's obvious he hasn't used it yet. We just need to find him."

"There is another possibility," Veemoli said as the Gate opened once again, letting his own daughter out, as well as Wroff and Refla.

"What other possibility," Tai asked.

The wizard let out a sigh. "Both Xavius and Flare had magic. If either of them fell asleep while in possession of the unused _Chrono Key _it is possible that other Radical Dreamers in the far past sensed it and found a way to come to this time and place and retrieve it. Magic can be used in the place of true sleep for a time, but Flare would not know how to channel his power in that way, and Xavius had clearly exhausted his magic. Either of them could have succumbed to exhaustion."

"Damn it!" Tai swore. "Still, if someone else has it they haven't used it yet."

"No, they have not," Veemoli said, "but that does not mean that they will not. We need to make haste in our search for the _Chrono Key_, no matter who currently possess it."

"Flare's been here for nearly three days without any o' us to help 'im," Refla said as he walked toward Tai and Gina, his leg now fully mended by Tai's magic to the point that if he still had any limp it wasn't noticeable. "The boy can handle exhaustion, an' if it's someone else that's come here lookin' fer that damned _Chrono Key_, then at the very least Flare's been holdin' 'im off. We just need to find 'em and lend the boy a hand."

Tai felt momentarily heartened by his master's confidence, but then something caught his eye. White and flickering in the wind just to the north of them was a strip of white cloth, caught on a piece of protruding steel. With a sinking feeling Tai retrieved the small strip of cloth. "This is Flare's lucky bandanna. He'd never just walk off and leave it."

Gina came to his side, her eyes bright with worry. "There's no blood on it, and no other blood around here other than Xavius's. Flare must have just lost it in the struggle."

"Yeah, maybe," Tai said as he handed Flare's headband to Gina, "but this worries me. If he'd simply lost it in the struggle wouldn't he have been able to find it right afterwards? I mean I found it and I wasn't even looking..." The young man trailed off as a deep worry began to fill him.

The Gate opened one last time and Randall came back through, followed by the twins. Randall tossed the time stone to Tai, who had come to be thought of as the stone's rightful bearer by default in Flare's absence. He placed the stone inside of his cloak's pocket. It took Randall only a moment to pick up on everyone's unease, but Paige beat him to it. "What's going on? Xavius's dead, right?"

Tai gave a small nod and then began to explain the situation. When he finished Paige just shook her head tiredly. "When will this be over? We beat Xavius and save everyone only to have someone new show up and to take a crack at being an evil god?"

"It'll be okay," Tai said with a small, if forced, smile. "We don't know _if _a new party even has shown up. Flare might have the _Chrono Key _safe and sound. We just have to find the _Chrono Key_, hopefully we'll find Flare with it."

Paige returned the smile. "Right. Then we should start looking for them. Same plan as before? We'll let Randall do his thing?"

"If I may, I believe my own method may be slightly more efficient," Veemoli said, glancing over to Randall who returned the look with a nod.

Veemoli gestured toward his daughter. "Cassandra, as well as Penelope, Riiza, and Gina. Even though the _Key Fractions _are no longer inside of you, there should still be a small connection between the four of you and the completed _Chrono Key_. With all four of you here I can track it directly."

"Good," Refla said. "I have faith in Flare, but even he can't hold out forever."

* * *

"Wow, what a place," Tai said solemnly.

"Yeah," Paige agreed. "This place is a wreck. War sure sucks."

Tai grunted in response then asked, "Do you know what war this is, or what city we're in?"

"I'm not sure," she said. "There's always some war going on somewhere. The construction looks fairly modern so I guess we're sometime close to my home time, but we could be a little ways into the future. The future relative to me I mean. There's also no dome above us, but all that means is that we're in a minor city."

Tai let out a low whistle. "Minor city, eh? If this place wasn't ruined it would be larger than Truce."

Paige laughed a little. "I guess so, but only the Truce in your time. In my time, Truce Dome is one of the largest cities in the world."

"Yeah," Tai said sounding impressed. "I remember. Your home city's beyond what I'd ever imagined a place could be like."

The group traveled on in relative silence. Their worry over the unknown situation kept the conversations rather short while they focused only on reaching their goal. The sun had begun to set when Veemoli called them to a halt. Randall frowned. "Wizard Veemoli, the trail of magic left behind at the Gate site has been intersecting with this route periodically. I assume your method for tracking the _Chrono Key _is taking us in a straight line to it?"

"Yes," Veemoli said. "It is."

"What I believe this means is that the person who left the Gate site has the _Chrono Key_, but has taken an indirect route to get here. It is almost as though they've been wandering at random, sometimes even backtracking or traveling in circles. This irregular route doesn't suggest a person lost, but rather a person traveling in conflict with themselves. Perhaps out of their mind for some reason."

Tai grimaced and saw Gina do the same. "Then we should continue looking until we find them. If it is Flare he could be in some kind of trouble, " Tai said.

"There is trouble," Randall said. "The trail ends here. The route to get here was meandering to be sure, but it ends here. Vanishes."

"I'm afraid what I have to add to won't bring much light to the situation or comfort to our minds," the old wizard said with a tired sigh, "but the trail for _Chrono Key _ends here as well."

"Vanishes?" Tai asked.

"I'm afraid so," Veemoli replied. "Vanishes into thin air."

"What does that mean," Paige asked. "Did the person use the _Chrono Key _here? Are they already gone?"

"But I don't see a Gate anywhere," Tai added. "There'd be a Gate here right?"

"No," Veemoli said. "This time and place represents a special window within the flow of time. It is from here the _Chrono Key _can peel away the very fabric of the current space time and move the area directly into the Realm Beyond Time. From there the _Chrono Key _can fulfill its true purpose and transcend its wielder beyond the rules of time that all are bound by."

Tai felt himself blanch. "Then we're too late?"

"No," Veemoli said again. "I don't believe so. If the _Chrono Key _had already been used I'm sure I'd have sensed its resonance through the girls. I believe that the person who has the _Key_ has cloaked their presence from us. This means that they are both close and well versed in the use of magic, of course, that was to be expected. They are not only hiding their magic from us to an extent that Randall in all of his sensitivity cannot track them, but they're also hiding the _Chrono Key _from any means of tracking."

"But they're close?" Gina asked.

"Yes," Veemoli answered. "My guess is that they're hiding somewhere within this local area. The dense collection of half finished and half ruined buildings would provide them ample places to hide from anyone who might try to find them."

"I see," Paige said as she surveyed their surroundings. "This place does look like a construction site."

"Yeah," Penny replied. "This _is _the kind of place that would have been awesome to play hide 'n seek in when we were kids, but Dad would've killed us if we'd have tried."

"Seek the Hiders," Veemoli said quietly. "To think that the fate of the world would depend on the outcome of a child's game, yet depend on it it does. I cannot feel the presence of the _Chrono Key_, but the resonance is beginning. We must find this person before they completely open the way to Realm Beyond Time."

"How close are ye sayin' that we are to 'em?" Refla asked.

Veemoli gave a small shrug. "That depends on many things, the foremost being their level of power and skill in wielding magic. Even so I'd say we are close, perhaps within half of a mile, perhaps less."

"Then we split up," Tai said. "We don't have much time, so we need to cover as much ground as possible."

"Agreed," said Randall. "Four teams would be best. That allows us to send one magic user with each."

The others nodded in agreement as the sun sunk closer to the horizon, casting a dim reddish glow throughout the ruined city. Somewhere down in his gut Tai knew that once the sun finished setting everything would be changed forever. Every one of them had come a long way, and now they'd finally arrived at the end.

For better or for worse the final act had begun, and when the sun rose again the fate of the world, the fate of time itself, would already be decided.


	31. Shadows Cast by the Fire

**Chapter 31: Shadows Cast by Fire**

"I'm going with the wizard and my sister," Kyui Wara announced, waiting for someone to argue the point. Tai figured that the assassin was trying to place his sister where she'd be the safest, which was alongside himself and the most experienced magic user they had. This brought Veemoli's team up to four when his own daughter was added to the number. Four would be larger than any other group, but they had no time to argue over the balancing of their four groups.

Penny walked over to her twin, silently stating who she'd go with. "Wroff," Refla called to the big man. "Ye should go with the girls, an' add yer muscle to Paige's magic."

The two them had built a friendship over the last couple of days, so Wroff didn't hesitate to accept Refla's request, acknowledging it with a fierce grin and a pumping fist. "I'll go with Randall, an' ye should go with Tai," Refla said to Gina.

With the teams decided the eleven companions said quick farewells and good lucks, and spread out to search the surrounding area. Veemoli's and Paige's teams were the two largest so they took the center most routes. Refla and Randall fanned out to the right, which left Tai and Gina to fan out to the left. They moved as quickly as they could, through the crumbling buildings and ruined landscape. In the fading light finding safe footing on the uneven ground was becoming increasingly difficult. Soon it would be dark and finding whoever had the _Chrono Key _would become near impossible.

"It'll be okay," Gina said, placing a comforting hand on Tai's shoulder. The stocky man looked over at his friend, confused for only a brief moment, then realized that his face was fixed in a frustrated scowl.

Tai shook his head and attempted a smile. "Sorry, I'm just on edge is all. Maybe splitting up this close to night fall wasn't a good plan after all."

"No," Gina said. "Veemoli doesn't think we have much time. This was really the only choice. Well, not the only one, but the best one anyway."

"Thanks," Tai said, squinting into the half light as they marched on.

"Besides, we'll get through this okay. You and Flare saved me didn't you? I know we'll find Flare and figure out what's going on. We'll get you back to your new girlfriend too," Gina said mischievously.

Tai turned with a start. "What? Girlfriend? I don't know what you..."

"Oh come on," Gina said with a playful smile. "I've seen how you two look at each other, and talk to each other."

"Well..." Tai said lamely.

"Just admit it," Gina prompted. "You like her. It's obvious she has feelings for you. Pretty girl too, you've got good taste."

Tai couldn't help but to smile back. "Now you're just teasing me."

"No," Gina said laughing. "I'm being serious. The two of you look good together."

"Thanks, I guess," Tai said. "I do like her. She is amazing and beautiful and funny and..."

"...and smart and..." Gina finished for him with another laugh. "See, I've got you gushing now. I told you that you liked her."

"Yeah, I guess you did," Tai said. "Well, you're right, but there is the small problem of her not being born until I'm a thousand years old."

Gina shrugged. "Just a small problem. I'm sure it will work out for you."

Tai turned to thank his friend again, to tell her that he was sure that they'd find Flare and they'd be together again too. Gina stood rigid, her eyes dull and unfocused. Tai's words caught in his throat, but before anything more than a strangled noise could come out, Gina's body flew to the side, tossed like a rag doll by some invisible force. She hit the ground and rolled, going limp once she stopped. Seeing no one in front of him Tai spun around, drawing _Azure Wind _as he did so.

Flare stood facing him. His red hair glowing like fire in the last moments of sunlight, shadows flickering around him like living things.

"Flare? What's going on?" Tai said in confusion. He wanted to say far more. To ask him if he had the _Chrono Key_, if he knew who attacked Gina, what had he been doing wandering in circles for days, but in his shock no more words had come.

"What is going on?" Flare repeated. His voice carried a mocking tone that Tai had never before heard in it. "I'm just here to say goodbye to a couple of old friends."

Gooseflesh spread across Tai's skin as Flare smiled. It was cold, cruel, and hard. Like no smile that had before crossed his lips. "Goodbye?" Tai said. "What do you mean, goodbye?"

"Simple really," Flare said raising his arm and pointing at the stocky man. "Goodbye."

As the last syllable left his mouth a bolt of molten fire erupted from his outstretched hand. Tai reacted instantly. Despite that part of his brain had been screaming that it was a betrayal not to trust Flare, that his best friend could not possibly do them any harm. Tai had known, known from the instant he saw his friend smile, that this was not the Flare he knew. That something was very, very wrong, and that he would have to defend himself. Defend himself against his best friend and closest thing he had to a family, or die.

At the same instant that Flare struck, Tai flung out his hand releasing a burst of wind so cold that the moisture in the air instantly froze to ice. The ice met fire halfway between them, exploding in a burst of steam. Tai dove sideways, readying his magic for another strike, rolled back to his feet and attacked with another blast of magically frozen air. Flare spun, and caught off balance only narrowly deflected Tai's counter with another fire bolt.

It was obvious that Flare had not been expecting much resistance, or if any at all, then not enough to have countered his fire with such ease. Tai pressed his advantage, summoning sheets of ice a dozen feet tall each in a circle around Flare. The frozen walls crashed in around him, in an attempt to freeze Flare in a cocoon of ice, but at the same moment a pillar of flame exploded upward from where Flare stood, causing the ice walls to evaporate before reaching there mark.

Using the copious steam for cover Tai ran to where Gina lie motionless from Flare's initial attack. The thought horrified him. Why on earth or in hell would Flare ever attack Gina, let alone Tai himself. Tai shoved the terrible thoughts aside as he reached Gina. A quick check revealed that she still had a pulse and was merely unconscious. As quickly as he could, Tai moved her behind a large concrete slab, where she'd hopefully be sheltered from the ensuing magical battle.

Round orbs of crimson flame whirled out from the center of the vapor cloud that still engulfed Flare. Most smashed into the surrounding rubble leaving small craters of molten rock or steel in their wake and causing miniature explosions that sent pieces of debris into the air. Any such debris that came towards Tai slammed into a hastily erected wall of ice. Tai's makeshift shield held against the assault. Each fireball was only a minor threat, the real danger was in the fact that they had been sent spraying out in all directions. He could have killed her! Tai realized in alarm. If Tai hadn't gotten Gina into cover this helter-skelter attack would almost certainly have killed her.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Tai screamed in horror as a burst of magically controlled wind swept the remaining steam away from the battle ground.

"With me? You should concern yourself less with my affairs and worry a little more about your own life." Flare said as he stepped into the open. Fire surrounded his hands, making his arms look like twin torches. His eyes flickered hatefully in the firelight. "Though I will admit that I wasn't expecting my faithful sidekick to put up such a fight. I was sure that my power could easily have overwhelmed you. Tell me something. How is it that you managed to get this strong? My first attack should have been beyond your power to block. Yet you're doing quite well for yourself."

Channeling as much magic into the blade of his katana as he could, Tai's mind raced. This attack was all so sudden. What was going on? Why was Flare trying to kill them? It was as though his friend was now a totally different person, an incredibly dangerous person. Flare's eyes met his own and the pure malice in them was colder than any ice Tai could create. "I think it's time for you to die, sidekick."

Four pillars of fire sprung up around Tai. Their crimson and gold flames twisting violently as they began to encircle him. For a moment the heat overwhelmed him. He knew that this fire was too strong for him to counter. It would be impossible to pull enough moisture from the air, or even magically create additional water, to build an ice shield strong enough to weather the firestorm. Even in panic his mind searched for a way out, grabbing desperately at any possible salvation.

Then Tai felt the water bellow him. Running in strong regular currents underneath his feet, far too ordered to be natural. The city's water system! Tai realized suddenly that underneath him was the vast amount of water meant to supply the city. He reached down to the water, easily latching onto it with his magic, and as the firestorm began to surge inward at him he pulled up with all of his magical might, at the same time slamming _Azure Wind _into the earth releasing the pent up magic he'd focused into the blade.

Hissing vapor exploded around him in a torrent. Fire met ice with an impossibly loud shriek of defiance as the two opposing substances destroyed one another. His skin was scalded by the boiling steam, but he was otherwise unharmed by Flare's vicious attack. He knew then that he'd have to counter with everything he had. If he held back in an attempt not to kill Flare then he'd instead die himself, and so would Gina.

Tai thrust both of his hands outright, willing as much magic as he could into the bellowing steam in front of him. His magic caught hold of the vaporized water instantly dropping its temperature. Dozens of razor sharp ice sickles formed inside the vapor cloud, then shot blindly outward in the direction Flare had been standing.

The force of the magical attack blew the remaining vapor outward, leaving the battleground's air clear once again. With a combination of magic and agility Flare avoided being killed by Tai's surprise counterattack. Many of the ice missiles were vaporized by a series of defensive fireballs, but a few managed to break through and meet their mark. Flare spun expertly, avoiding any fatal injuries, although several of the projectiles caught him glancing blows leaving a series of knife like cuts across his body.

Leaping backwards Flare landed in a crouch, blood oozing from a long cut that ran diagonally up his left cheek, leaving his face slick and crimson. "Bastard," Flare swore. "How is it that your magic is a match for mine?"

Tai didn't answer. In truth he didn't have an answer. Flare was right, Tai shouldn't be a match for him magically. After the battle with Xavius the depths of Flare's power had become obvious. If Flare went all out he _should _be able to overwhelm him. He was clearly doing his best to kill him, so why_ wasn't_ Tai being overwhelmed?

"It...doesn't matter," Flare said coldly. "I had hoped I wouldn't need to tap into this yet, but I guess you've left me no choice."

Taking up a defensive stance Tai prepared his magic, not to counter Flare, but to attack before Flare had another chance to unleash a full force attack. The stance was nothing but a decoy. As Flare's body began to glow with inner power, fire burning around him like an aura, Tai's stance turned aggressive and he swung his katana in a downward arc that sent a wave of ice slicing through the air.

Flare slashed his left arm through the air, and Tai's attack splintered into harmless powder just as it reached its mark. "That seems to be the best you're capable of," Flare said, "so I will end your misery and finish this with a single blow."

With this threat the fiery aura surrounding Flare began to violently flicker, and then began to change. The flame became tinged with blackness. At first it looked as though it was a fire burning oil, but it was not an effect caused by crude black smoke. In fact there was no smoke emitting from the magical flames at all. The flames themselves were turning black. Tai's body began to tingle uncomfortably as the flames grew darker, more and more of them changing from crimson gold to midnight black. Once the ratio had reached roughly half and half, the flames, red and black both, shrunk down closer to Flare's body. Deadly fire flickered an inch out, all across his entire body. Only Tai didn't think they had shrunk at all. It felt to him that the flames had instead condensed.

"Not very many people have ever seen _this _element," Flare mocked. "You shall become one of the unfortunate few to witness Shadefire."

Tai's heart began to race as he began to gather as much magic into himself as he possibly could. Something about this new fire, this new power, terrified him. He could feel the heat it gave off, but at the same time it also felt like it was stealing the heat from his body. The fire felt both frigid and searing at once. He was sure that his ice wouldn't stop the Shadefire, wouldn't even slow it. As the fear grew unchecked in his heart he wondered if he could even dodge it. Maybe it would just be too fast, or maybe he wouldn't try at all. He'd stand terrified and await the coming death.

Flare raised his right arm and pointed at him, almost lazily. "Watch closely now. I'll only be able to show you this once."

Their eyes met. Flare's filled with hate and Tai's filled with terror. At the last instant recognition sparked within Tai.

The short dark flames around Flare's body surged outward with an audible whoosh, crimson-gold once again replacing all of the black flames. Tai launched his own counter magic as the bolt of fire left Flare's hand. They met in mid air and exploded.

Ice cancelled out fire.

Flare's eyes widened in disbelief. "Ridiculous..."

"Feel free to label me unimpressed," Tai said. "I expected a lot worse from you, Xavius."

* * *

Contempt curled Xavius's lip. At the last instant the Shadefire had failed him, and the boy remained alive. "I will not be taunted by you," Xavius said coldly. "You will die by my hand."

Tai shook his head as he faced Xavius down. "No, I don't think so. I think if you could kill me I'd already be dead."

"Luck and circumstances," Xavius replied, "but your luck has very finite limits. You cannot dodge death forever."

"Luck? I don't buy that," Tai said, his voice lowering into a growl. "Circumstances though, that I think I agree with. Flare won't let you kill me will he? You've taken his body. He killed you, and you stole his body. But he's still alive in there isn't he? He's the one keeping you from going all out. As long as you use Flare's body against me, you don't have any chance at winning. He'll let himself die to get rid of you, before he'll kill me or Gina."

"Don't be foolish," Xavius said coolly. "Flare's mind and soul are dead. Just as dead as my body. My original body I mean, for this is my new body, the vessel I shall wear as I ascend to godhood. As my soul adjusts, I will only grow more powerful in this form. Stronger than I ever was before."

Inside Xavius cursed the fool boy. Despite what he'd said the truth was Flare _was_ still alive. He'd only used the Body Transfer as his last resort. There where several ways to perform a True Soul Possession. All of them forbidden. The method he had used was the quickest. The most brutal, the most irreversible, and unfortunately, the most dangerous to use. This method carried a one in three chance of killing the spell's caster. Odds like that were not ones Xavius would ever take if given an alternative, but he had had none. The method he'd used derived power from one's own life force. When used, the body of the spell's caster died. Always. If the spell took hold the caster's soul would dominate over the soul in the host's body and take over. The take over was supposed to be instantaneous, but it had not been.

The circumstances had not been ideal when Xavius used the Transfer. His own magic had been woefully weak. This was both the reason it hadn't worked properly and the reason he had been forced to resort to it. Because his magic had been so weak he had resorted to the one spell that could be powered by his body's own life energy and still give him a chance at surviving. It was truthfully the only chance to survive that he'd had, but casting the spell with so little magic had its consequences. The user's magic was meant not to complete the transfer, but to brutally beat the host's soul into submission. Without an ample supply of magic the Transfer did not take hold properly. Flare's soul had not been wiped out. It had remained, not fully in control, but strong enough to cause problems.

Xavius had spent days wandering aimlessly as the battle between his soul and Flare's had raged within their joint mind. At times it had felt like he had at last achieved total control, and at others it felt as though Flare would grind his will to dust and lock his soul away forever. Mostly they had been in a stalemate. Neither fully in control. Two minds jerking a single body to and fro, but in the end Xavius had won. He'd won but lost valuable time. The Gate was now fully healed and Flare's friends and allies had come through.

This put the sorcerer in a very difficult position. He had made it at last, to the exact spot needed to use the _Chrono Key_. The window was correct, and Xavius could use both his own and Flare's magic to power the _Key_, but the _Chrono Key _did not work the instant you commanded it to. Opening the way into the Realm Beyond Time took _time_. He'd hid his presence as well as he could, but they'd come too close.

He was now the closest he'd ever been to reaching his goal, but so much could still go wrong. The worst case scenario was Flare making a resurgence and purposely losing so the others could stop him. This thought was not pleasant, but was also unlikely. Once Xavius had fully grasped onto the power of the _Chrono Key _that now resided within their joint souls, he had gained the upper hand. From that point on Flare had been virtually powerless against his will.

Still the threat remained. Given enough time Flare's soul would weaken, and Xavius would gain control of his mind forever, but he did not have unlimited time. His time was incredibly finite. So he'd reasoned that the way to best ensure Flare's soul could not ruin everything was to deal it a mortal blow. If he could kill the people closest to him, the emotional impact would shatter the last of Flare's willpower, and his soul would crumble to dust.

Things were not going as planned. Xavius had gotten lucky by isolating both Tai and Gina. Killing them should have been an easy task. Should have, but wasn't. Tai had put up a far greater fight than Xavius had anticipated. At first he'd thought the boy's raw magical power had inexplicably risen over the last few days, but now he knew the truth. It was as Tai had just told him.

Flare was keeping him from using his full power.

Even though Flare had virtually no control over his own mind or body, he was still exerting some amount of control over his magic, and because they were now joined, Xavius's magic. No matter how Xavius tried he couldn't raise his magical output to the levels needed to outright crush Tai.

The Shadefire had been his best chance to kill the boy quickly, but Shadefire was not normal magic. The four elements could be used separately or combined into greater more complex spells, but even when two elements were used in junction they stayed at some essential level separate elements. The only known way to get a true fusion of elements was to perform a True Soul Possession and conquer another's soul. Then their magic would mingle with your own, adding to it and combining with it, until in the end they could be seamlessly joined into a single new element. These six elements were sometimes called the Forbidden Elements, and almost nothing of them was known. Not even Xavius knew much more than their names and their reputation for having terrifying power.

The elements had to be in perfect balance to work. When Flare's soul was finally gone Xavius would be able to use Shadefire at will, but at this point the magic between them still remained largely segregated, and the use of Shadefire was difficult. There at the last possible instant Flare had surged his own fire element and offset the balance needed to maintain Shadefire. This is what had saved Tai.

Xavius stared at the young man. He knew that he'd have to kill him and soon. Their battle of magic was getting neither of them anywhere. Xavius looked within Flare's mind, feeling it out for the skills it held. Then he drew Flare's sword. A katana named _Crimson Eon. _"Perhaps Flare is holding my magic back," Xavius said as he took an aggressive combat stance, "but his body and mind are _mine _now, and with them all of his knowledge, talents, and skills. If he refuses to let me kill you with magic, then I will instead kill you with his own sword."


	32. The First Fight

**Chapter 32: The First Fight**

Xavius moved first. Rushing forward, he launched into a complex attack routine designed by Refla to quickly break down an opponent's defense, so that they could be killed swiftly. Tai met the charge, knowing at once what routine Xavius was planning to use. No matter what the sorcerer had said Tai refused to believe that he could possibly have absorbed a lifetime's worth of sword skill in only a few short days. If Xavius was taking this bet that meant he was desperate, and Tai could use this desperation to his advantage in the fight.

Tai had sparred with Flare more times than he could count, but never once had they fought each other since they'd received their katana from Refla. For the first time _Crimson Eon _and _Azure Wind_ met in battle. Sparks danced in the darkness between the two fighters.

Night had fallen at last.

Tai countered Xavius's routine and quickly put him on the defensive. Switching to a routine designed to disarm, Tai drove Xavius's sword downward before dropping to a half crouch and striking upward. The unexpected angle of the attack knocked Xavius off balance, but the attack failed to knock the katana from his hands. Tai sprung up from his half crouch into a twisting upward strike. Blood sprayed from Xavius's - Flare's - chest and he fell several steps backwards into a new stance, one meant purely for defense.

"You're skilled with the sword," Xavius admitted. "But I already knew that. I also know this: I am more skilled than you."

Bleeding from the wound Tai had inflicted, Xavius attacked again. This time he didn't attempt such an aggressive style, instead his attacks were almost text book. Textbook, yet preformed with perfect precision and timing. His new stance and attack routine were the most balanced, combining both defense and offense without focusing on either. Tai countered with the same method. The fact that Xavius seemed to be playing it safe worried him a little.

They danced around each other in slow circles, trading blows and parries. As the fight wore on Xavius began switching between the balanced style and more aggressive ones. Quickly switching between styles and throwing more advanced techniques alongside the basic ones with the relaxed skill Tai would expect from a skilled swordsman, the skill he'd expect from Flare. Slowly Tai began getting pushed back onto the defensive. Every time he tried anything aggressive Xavius easily countered or parried, forcing Tai to become more and more defensively oriented as the fight wore on.

Sweat beaded on his skin, burning when it touched the many small cuts he had already received. He managed to cut Xavius twice more, but both wounds were far more minor than the first wound he'd given him. Tai was losing the fight. As much as he'd hoped Xavius had been exaggerating, the truth was that he was in complete control of Flare's sword skills. His methods and styles all screamed of Flare. If it wasn't for the malice in his friend's eyes he could almost believe that it really was his friend he was fighting against.

"Flare!" Tai screamed as he blocked an overhead slash. "Fight him Flare! We can beat this guy together!"

Xavius hesitated for a split second, possibly wondering what would happen now that Flare had been petitioned to directly. Tai took the opening and lunged forward with a powerful jab aimed at the right side of his opponent's chest. If he could pierce a lung then Flare's body wouldn't die instantly...

If he could only just hurt him enough to put him out of the fight, but still leave enough life in him that he could be healed with magic then Tai might still be able to beat Xavius and save Flare.

Xavius parried but was too slow to avoid harm completely. Tai's jab was knocked to the left and took Xavius in the shoulder. The blade glanced off bone, and Xavius stumbled backwards with an angry curse. "You fool," Xavius said through gritted teeth. "I will not be beaten by you. Flare cannot save you. He is gone. All that remains is me. His body, his mind, his magic are all mine!"

"That's not true!" Tai yelled back. "Flare's far too strong to be beaten that easily, and as long as you're fighting him, you'll never beat me!"

Xavius laughed. His icy laugh was recognizable even when coming from Flare's mouth. "I will show you that I can in fact kill you. You'll die because you've never been anything but second place next to your dear Flare."

The stance Xavius took next was instantly familiar. He raised _Crimson Eon _up and back over his right shoulder, the blade pointed forward at Tai. "I will kill you with _Master _Refla's final stance."

Tai's surprise lasted only a moment. Then he smiled.

Tai assumed the same stance, mirroring Xavius. "Of course Flare would have learned that stance, after all even I've been practicing it."

Xavius frowned. "You are bluffing. You do not know how to use this style. You may copy my form, but once I attack you will be dead."

"You're wrong again," Tai said with forced calm. "Flare might not know that I've been learning this style, but that doesn't me I haven't. You keep underestimating us. Again and again you make the same mistake. You've been underestimating me this whole fight, and you continue to underestimate Flare. This is your greatest fault, and it will kill you."

"I think not," Xavius said. "I know my strength and my limits better than anyone. It is you and not I who shall die here."

Tai smiled grimly. "I guess we'll find out then, won't we?"

* * *

Nothing. He was surrounded by nothing. There was no color, or darkness, or light, black, white, nothing existed. He was floating within a vast, no not vast, an infinite nothing. Or was he within it? Perhaps he was only part of the nothing himself.

That didn't make any sense to him. The very fact that he'd considered the possibility of being nothing, that he could think and reason at all made it clear that he was in indeed something. He was something! Even in the infinite nothing, something existed. He existed. He was not only something but someone, not only someone but a specific someone, a unique someone, he was Flare.

Flare!

At the realization of his name Flare's mind snapped into focus. Memories, emotions, sensations, all flooded into him, a torrent of agony and joy. Still he was floating within nothing. His body felt faded, not altogether substantial. The alien sensation panicked him for only a moment before he forced himself to calm down.

Where was he? No, that question could come later. How did he get here? What was his last memory?

Xavius.

That's right. He'd fought Xavius, though in truth it could not be called much of a fight. Xavius had charged him, unarmed and desperate, more a feral beast than the cold and calculating man he'd been before. Flare had stabbed him...and then? Flare struggled to remember what came next, but at that point all that remained was a feeling of absolute wrongness. A violation so great that Flare had to gather his courage just to face it.

What horrible thing had happened to him?

What was happening to him now?

That second thought caught in Flare's mind. Odd. Nothing was happening to him now. He was in _nothing_. No, something _was_ happening to him. He wasn't passively floating here, wherever here was. He was struggling. On some level a part of himself was still fighting. Xavius? Yes, that felt right. Now that his mind was thinking on it he could feel Xavius somewhere out in the infinite nothing.

He was fighting with everything he had, yet had no idea what or how he was doing it. It was like swinging a sword one handed and blindfolded. Blindfolded with cotton stuffed in your ears. He _would _lose this battle if he continued like this. The problem was that the more he tried to feel the source of the struggle out, the fuzzier everything became. The harder he pushed the further his mind faded. Flare hesitated. Was he making a mistake? No, the only other choice was to give up and lose the fight. He _would not _do that. He pushed forward seeking out the battle as his mind blurred.

The world continued to fade away, dissolving into the sparest shreds of reality. Then it reversed. Everything becoming clearer. Clearer and clearer. He could feel his body again. Light cut into his eyes bringing color and definition back into the world. He could hear birds chirping. He could hear a boy whimpering, "Please, please don't."

Flare blinked. What had he just been doing? Going for a walk apparently, and he'd stumbled on Tim and Danny doing their bully act on little William.

Will was a small boy Flare's own age with short blond hair. He wasn't exactly one of Flare's friends, but he was one of the few boys who didn't look down on Flare and the other orphans. They'd spent only a little time together, but Flare had come to like the boy. Once he warmed up to the people around him Will was actually pretty funny.

"You knew you owed us money," Tim said. The tall boy was a year older than Will or Flare, and his dark blond hair fluttered in the warm breeze as he stood over the smaller boy. "If you didn't want to get hit, you should have given us the money you owed us. This is your fault."

Will shook his head, tears forming in his blue eyes. "But I only owe you money, because you made me take that bet. We both knew you could throw the rock that far, but you made me bet you."

"Made you?" Tim asked with exaggerated innocence. "I don't remember that. You remember that Danny?"

The dark haired boy lazily turned his head and spat. "Nah. I don't remember that."

"See," Tim said. "You made a fair bet, and keep refusing to pay up."

"I'll pay," Will pleaded. "I'll pay you in a week, after my pa pays me for the hours I work in the shop."

"Tell you what Billy Boy," Tim said through a mean little smile. "You'll pay us twice what you owed us on account of your lateness."

Will groaned, "Twice! But that's my entire weeks pay."

"And," Tim cut the smaller boy off, "to make sure you don't decide to make some other excuse for not paying up, me and Danny are gonna give you a good beating. That way in a week we'll be certain of getting our money."

Tim raised his fist up as Will whimpered through frightened tears.

"Hey!"

Tim stopped and looked over to Flare, noticing him for the first time.

Flare stood still as the two larger boys glared over at him. Yelling at the bullies had been a gut reaction, now that he had their attention he wasn't sure what to do about the two larger boys.

"This ain't none of your business," Tim called out in warning.

"Yeah," Danny said with a chuckle. "This is between us kids with parents. A bastard like you's got no place in this."

"Bastard means you were born out of wedlock," Flare said back. "My parents _were_ married but are dead."

The bullies gave him a blank look. Flare himself wasn't sure why he bothered to explain the difference between a bastard and an orphan. He had needed to say something back, of course a witty insult might have been more situationaly appropriate.

"Whatever," Tim said. "They probably just liked the idea of death better than the idea of you as a son. Now shove off before we decide to give you a beating as well."

_Yeah I bet_, Flare thought, _I'm sure my parents loved the idea of dying in a freak mudslide_. He didn't say anything but decided right then that he wasn't leaving until he gave Tim a black eye. This presented a problem. If he attacked head on there was little chance he'd land a single punch before the duo of bigger kids took him down.

Giving a half hearted shrug Flare turned around and began walking away. His anger demanded that he attack, but his rational mind knew he had to be patient. If they thought he was leaving they'd go back to tormenting Will, and Flare would get a chance at surprising them. _Sorry Will_, Flare thought, _But if you want me to help you get away, you'll have to get hit at least once_. After his seventh step he heard Will cry out in pain. At that noise Flare spun on his heels, turning to face the bullies once again. They had turned away from him, their attention back on their chosen victim. Tim laughed with malicious glee as he raised his fist back up to punch the small boy in the stomach again. Will hung limply as Danny held him up by his shoulders.

Flare broke into a run. The primal part of his brain wanted to scream at them, wanted to howl his anger as he attacked. He forced that part down. He kept calm and hoped they wouldn't see him coming.

Tim turned to face him too late. Flare threw a wild punch without slowing his charge. His fist struck Tim in the nose with a satisfying thud, and his momentum sent both himself and the bully crashing to the grassy earth.

Tim howled in pain and fury as he flailed at his attacker. Flare ignored a blow that glanced off his forehead. Laying on top of the bully, Flare flung out his elbow, catching Tim in the chin. With Tim momentarily stunned Flare quickly raised into a crouch, sitting on the larger boy's chest and began pummeling his face.

Blood sprayed from his nose as Flare continued his attack. _You want to beat kids up? Take their money? Make fun of my dead parents? Go ahead jerk, but there's a price for your fun! And now you know I can make you pay it! _Tim covered his head with his arms, keeping Flare from causing too much direct damage to his face, but at the same time unable to strike back.

As Flare's anger reached fever pitch his head exploded in pain. Stunned, Flare found himself staring up at the sky, his ears ringing like Leene's Bell. Danny had dropped Will and now stood over Flare, his fist still stretched out in the pose of his punch. As Danny stalked forward to press his attack Tim suddenly shouted, "No! The filthy orphan bastard is mine! Mine!"

Clumsily climbing to his feet, Tim, blood painting his lower face bright red, rushed at Flare. On instinct Flare kicked straight out, hitting Tim squarely in the shin. With a yelp of pain the boy stumbled and fell onto Flare. Reflexes kicking in Tim extended his arms to catch himself from the fall. Flare quickly grabbed both of Tim's arms keeping him from being able to attack. With a grunt of effort Flare slammed his head upward, smashing Tim in the face with a simple yet brutally effective headbutt. Tim's head snapped backwards and Flare released his arms, using his now free hands to shove Tim off. Scrambling to his knees Flare punched the bully in his gut. "What's the matter!" Flare screamed. "Can't handle fighting someone who actually fights back!"

Shoving him onto his back Flare landed another punch, then he was hoisted up and back. Danny held him by his shoulders the same way he'd been holding Will moments ago. Unlike Will Flare did not go limp in defeat, but instead flung his head back. Danny was taller than Flare and took the blow to the chin, causing him to yell out but not loosen his grip. The larger boy locked his hands behind Flare's neck, maintaining his hold while preventing Flare from using the same trick twice.

"You filthy little bastard!" Tim cried as he climbed to his feat. "Hold him tight Danny. We're gonna teach this little punk a lesson!"

Flare met his eyes and forced himself to smile, to not show any fear. Tim was used to hitting kids who were afraid. Flare would show him that he couldn't intimidate everyone.

"What the hell you smilin' at?" Tim asked. "You really this happy to get a beatin'?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking about the whipping you're dad's going to give you later," Flare said through his wide smile.

"You dumb or something?" Tim said. "You think my dad'll really whip me for this? Hah! Go ahead and tattle you baby, but nothin'll happen to me."

"You're wrong," Flare said as he made a nod towards the fleeing William. "I'm not going to tell anyone. He is."

"Crap," Tim swore as he watched his intended victim escape. "I guess you'll have to take his beatin' too, and you're kidding yourself if you think he'll tell nobody nothin', kids a coward."

"Timid," Flare corrected, forcing his smile to stay wide, achieving an almost manic look. "Will's timid, and that is exactly why he'll tell. You really think he'll be able to not tell his dad about your bullying when I tell him he has to? He's scared to say no to you, but after seeing our little fight he'll be scared to tell me no too. Will is going to tell his dad about you, and Will's dad is going to make one big stink with yours. Your dad won't have a choice but to whip you! He'll do it because the others will think he's too weak to control his own son. He'll whip you just to save face, and I will smile the whole time thinking about it."

The bully's face contorted in rage as he struggled for words. Flare's threat was well reasoned enough that Tim knew it would probably work. "Okay, you do that. I just hope you like smiling without any teeth!"

Fist raised, Tim came at him. Flare kicked out with his right leg, catching him square in the stomach. Tim fell backwards as the breath exploded from his lungs. "What's wrong big guy? Can't get me even when I'm being held by your crony?"

Danny corrected his mistake by his own right leg around Flare's. He wasn't very good at spotting holes in his defense, but he was pretty efficient at plugging them once they cropped up.

Tim scrambled back up and once he saw Danny's new hold he came in from Flare's right. Flare kicked with his free left leg, but the angle was bad and the kick didn't even slow him. Flare gasped in pain as Tim slugged him in the stomach.

"How's that? Still smilin' bastard?"

Flare lifted his gaze and smiled as wide as he could. "Idiot. That's my stomach, not my mouth. You'll never knock my teeth out dumb as you are."

Snarling Tim reeled back. This time Flare knew he would get hit in the mouth, and maybe even lose some teeth like Tim was promising. Tim's fist had started forward when he was suddenly bowled over.

For a second Flare thought Will had returned, but then he saw the boy rolling on the ground with Tim was actually Tai. Flare gave out a whoop. "Get him Tai," he cheered. "Knock his head off!"

A solid punch to the jaw knocked Tai onto his back. Tim crawled over to him frantically, fist raised to hit the newcomer. He let himself get just a little too close. Flare kicked out with his free leg, clipping Tim in the chin. The kick wasn't much but it was distracting enough that Tai managed to recover and pounce on his opponent, taking the advantage again.

Danny swore and flung Flare to the side, trying to rush to his friend's aid. Flare lunged at him and grabbed an ankle sending Danny sprawling to the ground. As quickly as he could Flare shot forward, getting the boy in a chokehold using his right arm. With his left arm Flare reached out grabbing one of Tim's wrists. Having only one arm to defend himself he was nearly defenseless against Tai's assault.

"That's enough!"

The four boys froze. Over them stood a strong looking man without any hair, not even eyebrows. Flare's heart sank at once. They'd been caught fighting by an adult just when it looked like they could have won the fight. Now on top of everything they'd probably get a whole slew of extra chores once the orphanage found out.

Tai lowered his fists and sat upright looking at the man, still on top of Tim, but the bully's face was ugly with rage and he swung a heavy blow at Tai's turned face. With a fluid speed the man caught Tim's fist before the swing connected and twisted his hand sideways. Tim yelped in pain as the man held his arm in the unnatural position.

"Are ye deaf ye fool boy?" the man growled.

"Oww, ow, ow, ow, let go!" Tim pleaded.

"Ah asked ye a question? Are ye deaf? Did ye not hear me say that ye're finished with this fight?"

"I heard," Tim whined. "I heard! Your going to break my arm!"

"Ye make another swing an' I'll break yer arm fer real, understand?" the man said.

"Yes...Yes!"

The man released Tim, and in the same motion grabbed Tai by his shoulder and lifted him up next to him. Then he looked over at Flare. "Ye let go too."

Flare realized he was still choking out an increasingly weak Danny. Fearing the man's wrath Flare instantly let go and scrambled to his feet.

The man stared hard at Tim and Danny, a faint look of disgust on his weathered face. "Ye boys listen good. If I ever catch the two of ye bullyin' anyone anymore, ah will drag ye off to yer parents an' make sure ye do get a whippin'. Understand?"

"Yes sir," Tim said. Danny merely nodded as he rubbed his throat.

"An' ah will be checkin' up on that boy William," the man continued. "If I so much as suspect he gave either of ye bottom feeders a penny o' his, I'll give ye that whippin' ma'self."

"Like hell," Danny muttered indignant. "Our dads won't stand for you threatening us."

"And what will yer dads do about it," the man growled. "I suggest ye ask yer dear da' about his arm."

Danny looked confused. "His arm? He hurt it working on a house. Had an accident and fell off."

"That so," the man said with a grunt. "The only accident I recall yer da' havin' was drinkin' so much ale that he thought wise ta pick a fight with me at the tavern. Maybe he'd o' preferred fallin' from a house though. I'll ask again, do ye understand me? If ah catch ye even lookin' at another kid wrong, yer both answerin' to me."

"We understand," the two boys repeated as they refused to meet his gaze.

"Good," the man growled. "Now get outta me sight!"

The boys ran off, glad to be away from the frightening man. In a way Flare envied them their dismissal. Getting to his feet, Flare tried not to shrink away from the man's gaze. If those bullies got off easy, maybe the man wouldn't turn him and Tai over to the orphanage. They should apologize. If they promised not to fight anymore there was a chance they'd avoid a week's worth of extra chores.

"Sir," Flare began. "We're really sorry that..."

"Don't," the man cut him off. "Don't apologize for what ye did. I saw everything, and sticking up to a pair o' bullies is nothin' to be sorry for."

"I...r-right," Flare stuttered.

"Ye boys put up quite a fight. It takes real courage to stand up to somebody bigger and stronger than yerself."

"Thank you, sir," Flare said uncertainly, his hope for the situation rising.

"Ye two've got a fire in yer eyes," the man said as he regarded them. "My name is Refla. It's been a policy o' mine not to take on students, skill's too dangerous, trainings too rough."

"Students?" Tai asked.

"This world is full of people. Some are mostly decent, an' others are mostly jerks. Don't ever think that nobody out there'd do ye evil. That's naive, but don't forget that good exists out there too. Wouldn't make sense to label someone 'evil' if we had nothin' to compare 'em to, would it?

"I've got too much talent with the sword to feign modesty, doing so would be a mockery. Like I said, the training is harsh, and what I would teach ye is too dangerous for me to hand out to just anyone. That said, ye boys could be trusted with a little knowledge about how to fight. An' I think ye'd both be able to handle the trainin'. I'll teach ye, pass down what I know, if ye choose."

Flare and Tai stared in disbelief. He was offering to train them with the sword? How often had he and Tai talked about someday joining Guardia's military? Learning the sword would give them a distinct advantage over other applicants. Their oft talked about dream could actually become a reality. He caught his friend's eye and saw Tai give him a small nod.

"Please sir," Flare said. "Take us on as your students."

The man, Refla he had said, nodded to them. "Then come along. Later I'll go to yer orphanage and okay this instruction with yer guardians. Fer now let's get ye boys some dinner."

Sharing an exited look with Tai the two followed their new teacher. Their world had just changed forever.


	33. The True Fight

**Chapter 33: The True Fight**

The confrontation with the bullies over, Flare's adrenaline began to wane. A deep troubled feeling replacing it. The unease bothered Flare. He should feel exited not troubled. He did feel exited. No, he had felt exited.

Had felt? Why was he thinking in the past tense. With a jolt Flare realized that Refla's training wasn't a mystery. He knew what he they would get taught, because he had already been taught it.

What was going on? Was he in a dream? It was too real to be a dream. A memory then? Then why was he feeling such a horrible tension. He was fighting someone. This tension was the same he had learned to associate with a fight. Refla and Tai began to grow insubstantial as he realized his world wasn't real. The fight was real though. If only he knew who it was that he was fighting. His mind was growing foggy. Was it Tim? Of course not, that had only been a memory, and besides whoever he was fighting was far more dangerous than that petty bully ever had been.

Flare stopped walking. He stared blankly at the ground, rubbing his forehead. If he could only think clearly for a moment he could figure out what was going on. Now he wasn't even sure what was bothering him. Someone dangerous? Why did he feel so damned helpless?

Feeling the smooth handle of his bouken, a wooden practice sword carved by Relfa himself, bolstered his confidence and calmed his mind. Looking up he saw Tai standing in front of him, his shaggy brown hair hanging loosely around his shoulders, holding his own bouken out toward Flare's chest. Flare was seriously considering letting his own short cropped hair grow out, which was funny considering that Tai was planning to cut his longer hair short.

"What's that?" Tai asked.

"Hum," Flare said thoughtfully. "Dangerous. I think we've learned enough to be dangerous."

"Let's hope so," Jeremy, a fellow orphan, called out excitedly. "We'd better get a good show!"

A large semi-circle of their orphanage mates surrounded them. Several called out with cheers of encouragement. All were eagerly looking forward to watching them spar. All the orphans at least. Gina was neither an orphan nor exited for the spar.

She sighed in exasperation. "He's going to find out you know. Sooner or later he always finds out."

"No one knows we're back here," Jeremy said. "No one'll tell because if they get in trouble we won't get no more shows like this. If no one tells then no one'll ever know."

Gina fixed him with look. "He _always_ finds out." She turned back to Flare. "Whenever you guys break any of his rules he finds out. You can spar all you want when you're with Refla, anyway."

"Yeah, but we're not allowed to watch then," Jeremy said.

Flare grinned. "Loosen up Gina, yeah we might get in trouble, but you won't, besides a little extra exercise will only make us stronger."

"That's right," Tai said. "We'll be fine."

Shaking her head she muttered to herself. With the last of the objections out of the way Flare raised his own bouken. "Ready?"

"You know it," Tai said.

A cheer went up as the practice swords met with a clack. As they exchanged blows Flare focused on keeping the proper distance from Tai. Flare's arms were longer than Tai's, and that gave him an advantage as long as he remembered not to get in too close. Tai's own advantage was in his superior arm strength. Flare would have trouble trying to wear him down, but could get worn down himself if the fight was to drag on.

This advantage had a draw back that Flare thought he could put to use. If Tai grew too bold and tried to use his strength to quickly wear him down he might grow reckless. If Tai grew reckless Flare could win the fight on skill alone, before he grew tired.

The drumming sword strikes began to form a rhythm within the chaotic cheering. This part of the fight was usually when the fighters would feel each other out, testing for weaknesses to exploit while maintaining a defense so as to not get overwhelmed should their opponent throw everything into offense. Flare and Tai already knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. They had sparred many times since their training had begun four years earlier.

The fight grew more intense as they worked into increasingly more advanced sword forms. Flare began to feel that they had never fought with such skill before. Their audience would have been impressed with a display half as good, and somewhere in the back of his mind Flare had the feeling that they should be only _half_ as good as they suddenly were..

_Don't be foolish_, Flare thought to himself, _Of course we've developed considerable talent. After all we've spent nearly a decade learning from a true master of the sword. _The thought instantly struck him as odd. Nearly a _decade_? They hadn't known Refla for half that amount of time.

Dismissing the thought, Flare began to push his assault, pushing Tai back and keeping him on the defensive.

"You don't have to do this," Gina called out. "Please stop this, Flare!"

Something in her voice unnerved him. There was a pleading quality that was far too desperate for the context of this simple sparring match. He hesitated and Tai pounced on the opening. Flare fell back seamlessly transitioning to defense as he tried to sort out his thoughts.

He could stop the match, call it all off even if it disappointed their friends. That wasn't something Flare wanted to do, but if Gina was this worried over them, then that had to take precedence. He made a choice.

Opening his mouth to tell Tai to stop the fight, their friends should be satisfied with the duel short though it was, Flare instead bellowed out a battle cry and rushed forwards. Regaining the offensive advantage, his actions startled him. Why had he done that? He shouldn't have become so aggressive in a simple sparring match against his friend. Tai made no comment on Flare's behavior and continued to fight. This made sudden sense as Flare realized that Tai was fighting as aggressively as he was. That Tai and him had both been fighting far to aggressively from the beginning.

They were _fighting_. This was no sparring match, no matter what their cheering audience believed. Tai's stance was the same as he'd seen Refla practice. It was still too advanced to be taught to them; however, Tai was using it competently. The only reason Flare had yet to be overwhelmed by it, was that he too was using the same form. His mind recoiled from the shock of the realization. He tried again to call the fight to a stop. Something was happening here that he didn't fully understand. He failed to halt the fight again, even as Gina called out to him to stop, begged him to stop. Her voice barely audible over the roar of encouragement from the crowd of orphans.

He could not stop the fight. His body was now acting of its own accord. Flare was no longer sure if he had ever been in full control since the fight's start. Something drove him on. Even if he didn't understand what was happening, he was becoming more certain that Tai was trying to hurt him. If he didn't win the fight he could die. Something inside of him screamed that there was more to it. That this simplified truth was too dangerous to follow, but it was all that he had. So he fought to win. This way it at least felt like he had control, even if he knew that control would be gone in an instant if he tried to stop.

The instant Flare committed himself to the fight the advantage became his. Not a marginal advantage like they had been trading back and forth, but a major advantage. He realized that Tai, while an exceptional fighter, was far bellow him in terms of speed and skill.

Tai's attacks seemed slow now. Had he really thought they'd been fast? Deflecting them was a simple matter that took barely an effort. All that he had to do was apply a little pressure and Tai's defense would falter. He'd slip up, make some minor mistake, and Flare would have him.

The mistake came as Tai over swung slightly. Flare swung his sword up in a rising angle, sending his friend's bouken flying out of his hands. In the same motion he let his momentum flow from his upper body down to his legs, knocking Tai's feet out from under him with a sweeping kick.

His friend fell with a grunt as his breathe was knocked out from his impact with the ground. Flare stood over him, relief swelling. The fight was over. All he had to do was tag him and he'd won the match. Tag him and Flare would have control again.

Flare pointed his bouken down at his friend's neck.

"Don't do this!" Gina cried out. The horror in her voice caused Flare's blood to turn cold. "Please, Flare don't do this!"

Flare hesitated. Why was she so upset?

Their match was over, and the damage was done. So why be concerned over a simple tap with a piece of wood? He looked down at Tai and saw fear in his friend's eyes. True fear.

Flare fought to understand. Why were Tai and Gina reacting like this? The others weren't. The bigger question was, how had they fought at such a skilled level. Neither of them should have been that good. Maybe they would be someday, but they weren't now.

Something began to crumble away as Flare stood over Tai, his sword hovering inches above his friend's neck. The weapon in Flare's hand was a sword. Not a piece of wood made to imitate a sword, but a real katana forged from steel. Tai was already bleeding from a dozen small wounds, and Flare could feel his own blood damp against his clothing.

The cheering orphans were like smoke now. Their substance fading away as the illusion that had gripped him continued to crumble. Tai was not a thirteen year old boy with long shaggy hair, but a young man whose hair had been short for years. The orphans vanished completely, but Tai did not. He was real. Gina was real as well. She was still there pleading with him. The tears in her voice cut at Flare's heart. Yes, she was real, those tears were real, and Tai's blood was real.

Their fight had been real too. The only thing fake had been the details and context of the thing. They weren't behind the hill south of the orphanage. It wasn't even daytime. He stood over Tai amidst the ruins of a city. A city much like he'd seen when they'd gone to the future while chasing after Xavius.

The future? Xavius? The last remnants of the illusion shattered, and Flare was left completely lucid, completely aware of his situation. He had finally made his way through the infinite nothing of his subconscious. Now that he was back to the surface, what he found terrified him. Now he understood the sense of wrongness and violation he had felt when he tried to recall the moments after stabbing Xavius. Upon stabbing the sorcerer Flare thought he had finally won; never in his life had he been so wrong. He had gone alone to confront Xavius and to defeat him, but he hadn't been able to. He had failed to stop Xavius.

He had killed Xavius's body, but Xavius had taken his.

He could feel Xavius's soul within him. It was like a pillar of ice pinning him to the earth. Dominating his own soul to the point Flare had been reduced to a prisoner behind his own eyes. The wrongness of it was terrifying, but the incredible danger to his friends' lives was far worse.

"Now," Xavius said using Flare's mouth, "you die."

_No! _Flare thought in panic, _Don't kill him! _He tried to wrench control of his body back, but it was like trying to move a boulder with only his breathe. He could blow for a thousand years and the boulder would remain. _Please, don't kill him! Stab his shoulder or something, I don't care if it's just petty revenge for him stabbings ours earlier, just don't kill him!_

Xavius thrust the tip of _Crimson Eon _down into Tai's right shoulder, causing the young man to scream in pain. Flare's mind went blank with shock and relief. That had actually worked. He still had some hope, no matter how thin. He resisted sending a message of complete surrender, sensing that it not only wouldn't work, but might cause Xavius to become aware of his new found lucidity. Somehow he'd have to stall Xavius by sending suggestions that the sorcerer would accept as rational.

Flare's mind whirled as he tried to think of something. Xavius was still going to kill Tai. _His shoulder's bleeding pretty bad. Might as well cauterize it so he doesn't bleed out before you kill him. It's only polite._

The argument was fairly weak, but he could sense that Xavius was angry enough at Tai to actually put off his death for a bit of torture. Tai, like he himself, had made their struggle against Xavius personal, and the sorcerer would not forgive them for the problems and pain they'd caused him. With a sickening mix of revulsion and relief Flare witnessed a small yet bright orb of fire spring to life on top of Tai's new injury. His friend howled as the fire ate away at his flesh.

"So this is how weak magic has grown," Xavius said as the flame faded away. "It is so very close now..."

Flare understood what Xavius was talking about. The fact that magic was growing weaker was not a revelation, but the way he understood it was. His mind felt expanded is some way that he didn't yet understand. It wasn't because of his connection with Xavius, or at least not directly because of it. Flare wasn't getting residual knowledge from the connection that now joined their souls.

He was getting it straight from the source. The _Chrono Key _existed within both of them. Flare's and Xavius's souls were both connected in someway, and thus the _Chrono Key _was touching them both. Xavius had control of it, and that was giving his soul the advantage it needed to have dominion over Flare's. Even so, Flare was still possessing the knowledge over time that the _Chrono Key _seemed to grant.

Magic was indeed waning. It was an effect caused by the _Chrono Key _as it pulled away the very fabric of space and time. Soon the entire surrounding area for a nearly half mile radius would crumble away like the illusion Flare had been caught inside. It would crumble away and all living things within the radius would be transported to the Realm Beyond Time. The place that the _Chrono Key _could be put to full use and a god could be born.

He shoved the majority of the infused knowledge away. It was interesting, but most of it was irrelevant to the current situation, and the vast quantity of the knowledge would only serve to muddle his mind when he now needed it to be clear.

Gina's scream brought Flare out of his thoughts. She was pleading with Xavius, with Flare, not to hurt Tai anymore. _Threaten her_, Flare thought at Xavius, _make sure she knows that you are the one in control, that Flare isn't here anymore. _He hated having to frighten Gina, but at this rate she might try something reckless. Flare would not give Xavius an excuse to kill her.

Xavius turned his face slightly towards Gina. "Silence girl. Flare is no more. Only I remain, and when I finish this fool, you'll have your turn then."

Gina shrank back more from the cold hatred in his eyes than from the words. Flare wasn't sure a how long he could keep delaying Xavius. He intended to kill them both. The only reason he'd been willing to toy with them more was that he sensed as clearly as Flare did, that the Realm Beyond Time was nearly upon them. This was the worst possible thing that could happen, yet at the same time it was the only thing keeping Flare's friends alive. Xavius believed he had won. Nothing could stop him.

The shadows around them moved. Flare wondered if it was finally happening. Then he recognized the shapes. People were charging out of the night towards them. Flare's heart leapt. His friends had arrived at last. He had been so preoccupied with keeping Xavius from harming Tai and Gina that he'd forgotten that his other friend's might be nearby.

He saw Randall first. The _Masamune _was glowing silver white in the darkness, illuminating those around him. Refla and Veemoli came in from either side of Randall, behind them was the assassin Kyui Wara, along with his sister and two other girls.

Randall flung his free hand forward in a very hostile spell casting motion. Tiny arcs of electricity crackled along his hand, leaping only a foot or two into the air before vanishing. The ex-knight hesitated, clearly confused by the impotence of his magic.

Veemoli's hands were surrounded by a violet glow that bubbled as if it were liquid. The glow stretched outwards changing hew until it was an acid green cloud. The cloud failed to cross a third of the gap between them before vanishing into an odd half light, almost like an afterimage of something very bright, not truly there, but still in its own way visible. Then that too was gone.

Xavius laughed. They had come to late. Magic was now completely smothered by the _Chrono Key_. Randall was charging forward again, the _Masamune_ no longer glowing at all, but he wouldn't make it in time.

A loud crack exploded into the night air. If it hadn't been for the hot pain that seared his left forearm he might have thought time had crumbled right then. Xavius turned his head to look out to the left and Flare saw Paige. She had circled around and now stood within shooting distance with her hand gun aimed at them.

Flare felt like swearing. She might have made that shot if she'd shot center mass, but instead she'd tried to spare his life and only disable him with an arm shot, but she'd only managed to graze his arm. The flesh wound was painful but not a true hindrance to Xavius. _Please shoot again_, Flare thought frantically, _Just kill me! Its the only way any of you will survive this!_

Xavius was suddenly aware that the girl could ruin everything. Magic was useless, and the only physical fighters were too far away to reach him before the _Chrono Key_ fully activated, but the girl could easily kill him with her gun. Xavius pressed the tip of the katana down against Tai's throat.

"Drop your weapon this instant or I kill him." The command was calm and inflexible. If she didn't drop the gun within the next second Flare knew that Tai would be killed. Tai tried to cry out. Likely to tell her to shoot.

He never got the chance. The gun tumbled out of Paige's hand onto the ground. Tai was spared.

It was all over.

The gun clacked against the earth and the world _snapped. _Everything felt different. Gravity vanished, light was first sucked away, as into a void, before new light burst through cracks that had appeared everywhere. Running not only through the ground, but through the very air around them. Light flooded through these cracks and they widened, more appearing everywhere.

Everything stopped. At once all became silent and still. Then the pieces of reality began falling away. Not falling down. Without gravity there was no down anymore. The shards of reality fell into, and away from, nothingness. To the others it would seem like they were vanishing, but Flare and Xavius could see with their _Chrono Key _enhanced senses that this was not the case. The shards were falling through dimensions unperceivable by humans.

There was a ringing noise. Like a very large, very clear, bell toll. The rest of the shards fell away. The normal plane of reality was gone.

All that remained was the Realm Beyond Time.


	34. The Final Gambit

**Chapter 34: The Final Gambit**

The icy laugh that came from his friend's throat reverberated through the strange void Tai found himself in. The place was similar to the End of Time, yet at the same time it was different. There was nothing here, no cobble stone floor, no lamp post, only empty infinite space. The space did not appear black in the same fashion as the End of Time, but instead a pure white. Everything was illuminated, although, there was no source of light as far as Tai could discern. He was certain that this place was the Realm Beyond Time.

Without warning Xavius shot upward, or what had been upward when there had been gravity telling them where down was, and flew out further into the empty void. Tai grabbed his neck where Xavius had been holding _Crimson Eon _to his throat only a moment before. When he pulled his hand away he found a small splatter of blood from where his skin had been pierced, but compared to some of his other wounds this was notably minor.

In other circumstances Tai might have found the empty white space beautiful, but right then it looked like a nightmare of helplessness. There was _nothing_ here. No hope. No salvation. _Nothing_. Soon Xavius would transcend into a god and their world would end. The worst part was that there was nothing Tai could do. He didn't even have his sword anymore. _Azure Wind _had been left behind when they'd been brought here.

"Tai," Gina said moving over to him. "I've got your sword."

Orienting his body to face her Tai stared blankly for a moment. "How..."

"I picked it up after you dropped it," she explained hastily. "I was trying to build up the courage to attack him with it, but I was too slow, too late."

He took the sword from her. _At least this is something_, he thought, then said, "How did you do that? Moving over here."

"I don't really know," she said with a shrug. "I just willed myself to move, and then I did."

"We have to try and stop him," Tai said.

She only nodded as tears began to swell in her eyes.

"We'll...we will have to kill him, kill Flare, to stop Xavius," Tai said trying to hold his own tears back. "It's the only chance we have."

"I know," Gina said in a broken sob. "I hate it, but I know. Flare would want us to. He'd hate being used as that horrible man's pawn. Not trying to stop Xavius would be a betrayal to Flare worse than killing him."

"You're right," Tai said as he look toward where Xavius had flown. "We have to try. No, we have to succeed."

"Tai, I'm so sorry," Paige said, appearing next to him. "I should have taken a better shot." She looked close to tears herself. "This is all my fault."

"It is not," Tai said, placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "The only one to blame for any of this is Xavius. We'll catch him, and then we'll kill him."

Both girls nodded. Tai knew that they'd already wasted too much time speaking and orienting themselves to the strange new environment. Now was the time to act. He willed himself to move in the direction he could still see Xavius, wondering how difficult it would be to move by thought alone. Instantly his body accelerated, and he found himself soaring through the void.

Paige was at his right side, moving at an equal velocity, but Gina was lagging behind. Twisting his head around, Tai could see the others. They had all began to chase after Xavius as well. Kyui Wara, Wroff, Refla, and the other girls were being outpaced by Randall and Veemoli. The later of whom was moving faster than anyone else.

_So its magic_, Tai thought, _Those of us with magic can move faster here than those of us without. _Just as Tai began to wonder if magic could be used normally Veemoli answered the question by launching a vast boiling cloud that glowed a violent acid green. The cloud hurled through space ahead of the man who'd cast it, missing the distant form of Xavius by a wide margin, and Veemoli suddenly slowed down to the point that Randall momentarily overtook him.

Magic could be used, but the price for using it was pure velocity. Tai quickly decided that speed was the more valuable asset. He'd rely on his sword once he caught up, if he caught up. Pushing the pessimistic thought from his head he surged onward. He'd catch up to Xavius. He'd kill his best friend. Even if it cost him an irreplaceable part of his soul, or his life itself, he would not let a dark god be born on that day.

* * *

How could he not laugh? The culmination of his life's work was upon him. The _Chrono Key_ was roaring to life inside of his soul. Soon he would transcend time itself and become, in essence, a god.

So Xavius laughed.

He soared easily through the blank slate that was the Realm Beyond Time. Lightning cut through the empty space somewhere behind him, but it was too far off to be of any threat. Still, Xavius had learned that underestimating his enemies was a grave mistake. He'd been far too merciful when dealing with the fools who had stood against him, and all he'd gained from it had been pain and strife. Had he only killed those fool boys back when he had acquired the first part of the _Key_, none of his recent difficulties would have happened.

Now he was being harried even in his moment of final triumph. He had even failed to kill the boy named Tai. It did not really matter, but it still felt as though he'd repeated his original mistake. No, he had not spared Tai. He had simply run out of time. The boy had gotten lucky, but it did not matter, he was no longer the threat he once had been. In the last moments of their fight something had changed inside of him. His skill with the sword had increased dramatically. The katana had flowed through its forms more naturally than it had before.

Flare must have finally succumbed completely. The remnants of his soul had held him back from using his full potential. Now those remnants were finally gone.

Xavius considered summoning Shadefire to deal with his pursuers, but quickly decided against it. Once a spell was cast the magic flowed from one's body to the outside world. With less magic in one's body, the speed it was possible to travel inside of the Realm would lesson. The more those fools tried to hit him with desperately cast magic, the slower they would become. If he fought back he could kill some, but then he'd slow down, and it was still possible for the others to overwhelm him.

A portion of Xavius's magic was being used to fuel the _Chrono Key_, so even though his magic, and therefore his speed within the Realm, was greater than that of any of his pursuers, the magic lost to the Chrono Key put him at a disadvantage in a straight on race. If he flew straight he would be overtaken before he'd had a chance to transcend time, but fighting back directly was too risky. Flare's katana was still gripped in his right hand. Dropping it would not increase his speed, and he retained his grip on the weapon, in the very least it would serve as a final contingency should he need one.

There were too many variables in play. Now that he was so close, he refused to leave anything to chance. He had to make sure that he would not be overtaken.

An idea began to take shape. By constantly changing directions in an irregular way it would take them longer to catch him, if they did indeed catch him at all. Xavius smiled to himself as he began weaving at random through the air, and it was air that was inside of the Realm, most likely because the possessor of the _Key_ required it to breathe.

Then he put to motion the second layer of his plan. The usage of magic left one weaker magically, but the preparations for a spell did not. While the magic was still inside of him his speed would not be effected. Even with a large portion of his power being prioritized by the _Chrono Key _he could still cast the chosen spell within a few short minutes.

Xavius laughed again as the spell began to take form within his mind. With a stroke of genius he'd chosen to use the spell in an unthinkable way. To use the spell in the way he was intending was tantamount to suicide. _It is fitting_, he thought to himself, _the spell shall symbolize my death as a man, and rebirth as a god!_

* * *

Things were bad, but Flare realized that they could easily get worse. And they _would_ be infinitely worse if Xavius wasn't stopped. How long did they have? Minutes? His friends probably couldn't stop him without help, and unfortunately, Flare's options were severely limited.

The only idea he had was undesirable, even as a last resort, but it didn't look like he had any choice. He pushed that line of thought away. There was always a choice. This time it was either to go forward with his idea or not to. Hating himself he made a mental apology to Cassandra and her father, then sent a 'suggestion' to Xavius.

_They're too dangerous. Even if it's unlikely they'll hit a moving target with their magic, they should still be neutralized to make sure they don't hinder you. Use Shadefire._

If Xavius accepted the suggestion and used Shadefire against his friends it was extremely likely that someone would die. Most probably it would be Veemoli. Of all the magic users he was the most experienced and most dangerous. Flare didn't know the wizard well, but condemning a man to death was a sickening thought. If he had a better idea he'd have taken the alternative, but getting Xavius to use his own magic and thus slow himself down was the only way he could think of to give his friends a chance at reaching him.

A feeling of consideration came from his connection with Xavius. It vanished almost instantly as the sorcerer rejected the idea. The danger was not enough to warrant the risk. Disappointment mingled with relief as Flare processed the information. He forcibly replaced these emotions in exchange for hope. Xavius had considered the suggestion, and Flare believed he would have accepted it if there wasn't such an obvious risk factor.

The problem was that Xavius had the advantage. No manipulation Flare could think of, offered aid to his friends while being seemingly, and falsely, free of risk. Xavius was playing it safe. Even now Flare could feel his mind contemplating ways to get an even more absolute advantage.

In the end it was Xavius himself who gave Flare an opening.

The sorcerer was planning to use a spell. One that Xavius believed would render his plans unstoppable once cast. This meant Flare had even less time. Xavius knew these were the last moments of weakness he'd ever have and wanted to ensure that they couldn't be used against him. He altered his strategy in order to reduce his risk further.

That was the opening Flare needed.

* * *

"Follow me!" Xavius's voice rang into the white void. "Come bare witness to the birth of a god!"

Tai frowned as he pushed onward. Xavius was taunting them now. Tai cursed as a feeling of helplessness threatened to overwhelm him. Xavius was just too fast. It had been possible for Veemoli or even Randall to catch him, but he'd suddenly started flying in irregular patterns. Every time he made a turn, they had to readjust their orientations and follow. It would be impossible to catch him unless you knew ahead of time where he was planning to go, but due to the nature of his random path that too was impossible.

Time was running out. Tai could feel it in his gut. They really were about to witness the birth of a god. A twisted god who certainly would have no love for him and his friends. He wanted to scream his frustration out. What would Flare do? Tai didn't think his friend would have any more ideas than he did. The odds were just stacked too high against them. They had lost their chance to stop him once they'd entered this place. They had all tried and all failed.

"Everyone," Refla's shouted, his voice ringing clearly in the unnatural air like a trumpet. "Listen to me! Remember yer trainin'. Everythin' ye've ever learned or been taught. Ye can catch him then, an' ye can beat him!"

"What is he talking about?" Penny asked. "What training? Nothing I've ever learned could possibly help us right now."

Tai grunted. He had no idea what Refla was getting at either. If he didn't know his teacher any better he'd guess that Refla had snapped under the pressure of what was happening. That wasn't very likely though, besides, at that moment Tai needed guidance. He needed some way to channel his thoughts, or despair would take him. So he took Refla's advice and let his mind fall back on his training.

The first rule of combat was to watch your enemy. The second rule was to watch everything else. These had been the principles Refla had first taught them. The second rule was to ensure you didn't focus so hard on your enemy that you were taken by surprise by some other outside force. It applied less in the current situation than it normally did. There was no outside forces here, only them and Xavius.

Tai instead went over the first rule. The slightest detail in your enemy's behavior could reveal a weakness, a strength, or even a hidden weapon. The first rule was to ensure that you were not caught by surprise by anything your enemy did. It was so you could learn to predict them.

Predict them? Refla's old lecture fell into place like a missing puzzle piece. It made no sense to Tai why it should feel this way. Xavius's pattern was random, unrehearsed, unpredictable. Tai watched him anyway. Instead of focusing on catching him, he focused specifically on observing him. Was his pattern random? Why did it seem so familiar now? Was his mind trying to force order into a picture of chaos? Was he simply watching clouds and imagining shapes within?

Why had Refla said what he did? Now that he thought on it, he became certain that Refla's words had been specifically for him. Why then phrase them in a way that implied they were for everyone? What could Refla possibly have seen that Tai hadn't? If he had seen something why not just say it?

The questions spun in his head, bouncing off of each other without leading him to an answer. Then the final puzzle piece slid into place.

Xavius knew what Flare knew.

Flare was still fighting inside of Xavius. Tai had seen a brief glimmer of his old friend right before Xavius had stabbed him in the shoulder. Flare was doing something, and Refla knew what it was. He couldn't say outright because then Xavius would realize what was happening.

Tai's mind slammed puzzle piece into puzzle piece in what took a miniature eternity. There time was running out, but he could only think so fast...

There was a pattern.

When he finally saw it, the pattern became so obvious that Tai felt a fool. How had he not seen it? It was a pattern only three people knew. Himself, his teacher, and his friend. Flare had Xavius flying in a pattern taken directly from a training exercise. He was flying through the air using the same route the tip of their katana would take during one of the many practice routines they would do daily. The routine was complex and did indeed look random if you were only to watch the tip of the sword.

_Please let there still be time_, Tai prayed silently. Then he changed course completely. He heard Paige gasp as he shot off to the left. He had no time to explain and only one chance to kill Xavius.

Tai cut downward in relation to Xavius and then swerved back up, making sure to keep out of his line of sight. Mapping out Xavius's course in his head, Tai bolted in what seemed a pointless direction.

Xavius changed directions.

Tai gripped _Azure Wind _tightly in his hands. He couldn't fight the tears that burnt in his eyes. He silently thanked Flare for everything and swooped upward to kill his friend.

Xavius changed directions again.

This time his new path took him straight into Tai.

* * *

The sensation was increasing. It was indescribable in magnitude, a euphoria without limits. The _Chrono Key _was activating. It would be complete in good time, and time was now a resource he would soon have plenty of. The spell was ready to be cast. He took a hard left without thinking. His random movement was almost a redundant failsafe at this point, but the directional change was kicked in by reflex.

Xavius's euphoria was shattered in an instant. Pain tore through his abdomen before the shock of Tai's appearance could take hold. Tears of anguish streaked the young man's face as he slammed into Xavius with a bone jarring impact.

For a single moment Xavius lost focus on everything but the pain and surprise.

The moment passed and comprehension dawned. Tai's face was mere inches from his own. The blade of his katana impaling him clean through. Xavius had dropped _Crimson Eon _in the collision and now found himself grasping onto his attacker, holding him in a morbid embrace.

Self preservation kicked in, and Xavius took action. Threads of magic bound themselves to Tai, holding his body rigid, preventing him from doing even more damage with the blade. He then pushed Tai away with a burst of invisible force that was both powerful and precise. Hot pain sliced through him as the blade left his body, but it at least had been removed without cutting him further.

It took Tai only a second to break free from his magical bonds, as he did Xavius could feel the magic build in the stocky man as he prepared a follow up attack. In his injured state Xavius would be torn apart once his enemies descended upon him, but he still had the spell he'd been preparing.

With a cry of defiance Xavius released the spell. Directly above his head a small black dot appeared and hovered for a fraction of a heartbeat. From the dot's center a large curved dome grew downward, surrounding him and finally enveloping him inside of a large black orb. Once the orb solidified it grew translucent, making it appear as though the only thing separating him from the outside world was a thin layer of gray smoke.

The orb's boundary came within a foot of where Tai hovered. Xavius would have preferred to make it larger than it was, but he could not have risked getting locked inside with Tai. The orb was still large enough to serve its purpose, and lack of size was the least of Xavius's concerns. He pulled his right hand away from his abdomen to inspect the wound. Blood covered his arm and shirt, a harsh reminder that he was still very mortal.

Crystals of ice formed in front of Tai's hand. They were small due to the relatively little moisture in the air, but each was as sharp as a knife. The shards shot into the translucent barrier, dissolving uselessly on impact.

Xavius replaced his hand over the wound to stem the flow of blood. Before his possession of Flare he had lacked knowledge of human anatomy. His studies had been in other areas, but Flare's own knowledge of the location of organs in the human body was extensive. As part of his sword training he had learned the location of human organs. Xavius drew on this knowledge eagerly. He had to know how serious the wound was. The boy could very well have just killed him.

He forced down the pain and searched out a meditative calm. After a moment his breathing slowed and he found what he was searching for. He met Tai's gaze through the impassible boundary that separated them and forced a smile through his agony. "Sorry to disappoint you," he said through barred teeth, "but you missed my vitals."

The wound was severe, and if it wasn't treated it would soon become fatal, but the death would be slow. Even if blood loss could eventually claim his life, it would not happen fast enough to make a difference.

"You can remember this moment as the time you almost killed a god," Xavius said as Tai futilely swung his sword into the magical barrier. His voice turned cold, "Remember it and regret it for the rest of eternity."

Still holding the bleeding wound he used the euphoria of his impending apotheosis to dull the pain. Everything he had worked for had led him to this point. This pinprick of an instant that existed beyond time itself. At long last his struggles were finally over.

Xavius had won.


	35. Eyes of the Victor

**Chapter 35: Eyes of the Victor**

Frustration and despair raged inside of Tai as he floated before the strange spherical shield Xavius had erected. It was unlike any other magic barrier he'd seen. Tai's sword didn't rebound off of it but stopped instantly upon contact, as though all of the blade's kinetic force would simply vanish. Whatever he was hitting did not behave like a solid object. Likewise the magic he had used hadn't been deflected, it simply broke apart and vanished.

Xavius was bleeding and did look pale, but Tai didn't think he was lying. He did not have the look of a man who was dying. The wound was serious but not mortal.

Veemoli and Randall came in from the side, followed closely by Paige. Without hesitation the wizard and the ex-knight unleashed a torrent of magic into the shield. Blinding white flashes of lightning and acid green clouds that boiled chaotically sprung into existence only to vanish just as quickly once they reached their target.

Veemoli paled. "No. No, damn it all, no!" his words carried a hopelessness so bleak that they chilled Tai.

With a scream of defiance Randall raised the _Masamune_ above his head, bringing the shining white sword down with all of his might. The sword stopped as it hit, the glow disappearing as its magic was snuffed out on impact. A sphere of fire larger than any he'd seen Paige make, nearly as large as the spherical shield it was to be used against, roared to life above their heads. The three men retreated several feet back as it crashed straight down onto the shield's domed ceiling. The fire and its accompanying heat were gone the instant it fell on the barrier.

"It's no use," Veemoli said, his voice heavy with defeat. "We cannot break this barrier. What I have feared most in all these long years is finally coming to pass."

Tai glared angrily at the old man. "We can't give up! There has to be a way around this. Some trick we can use, or..."

Veemoli shook his head causing Tai to cut off short. "No, there is nothing that can be done."

As Tai struggled to find words to continue the argument, the rest of his companions made their way to them. When the others slowed to a stop before the barrier, Wroff did not. With a battle cry that put to shame anything Tai had ever heard the giant man hurdled himself at the barely visible wall.

"Stop you musn't-," Veemoli started to shout, but it was too late. Wroff slammed into the barrier without a sound. His body having no more of an impact on it than Tai's katana. Unlike _Azure Wind, _Wroff began to scream in pain as he made contact. Black veins spider-webbed across his body, and dark red blood began to stream from his nose.

"Get him!" Veemoli yelled. Tai lunged forward along with Randall and the wizard and grabbed the caveman, pulling him free from the barrier.

The black veins instantly faded, and the bleeding stopped once he was no longer in contact with the smoky orb. His screaming died down, and Wroff began to take deep tired breaths. He was still alive, but looked weak.

"That thing is death," Veemoli said. "We must not touch it, though it does not matter much anymore what we do."

"I refuse to believe that," Tai said. "There is no such thing as an unbreakable wall. If nothing else my recent experiences have taught me that. Every obstacle we've come across has had a weakness. This one can't be any different."

The wizard shook his head sadly as he looked at Tai. "I wish it were so, but not all obstacles are made equal. There is truly no way to break through this _thing_." Veemoli sighed, looking very old and miserable, then he went to his daughter and took her in his arms. "I'm sorry, but there is nothing we can do save to enjoy our last moments of freedom."

The girl was obviously frightened and clung to her father. A shadow passed across the rest of them. Were they really waiting on their doom? Tai wanted to press the issue, but Kyui Wara spoke first.

"I don't understand," he said with a calm that Tai found to be almost unnatural given the circumstances. "If Xavius was capable of such a perfect defense, why has he not used it before now."

"Because," Veemoli said, "that _thing _is not a defensive spell. It is a death sentence."

The assassin frowned. "Explain."

With a sigh the old man turned toward Randall, "If it pleases you to demonstrate for us, I could use your help in illustrating what I mean."

Randall nodded but stayed silent.

"Hold the _Masamune _out until it just touches the barrier," Veemoli said.

Randall did as he was told and held his sword out. The tip just touching the thing's smoky surface. At once the _Masamune's _silver-white light went out. "Now what," he asked.

"Just wait," Veemoli whispered.

Several seconds passed without anything happening, then at once the light from the _Masamune _returned. "Do you see what has happened?" Veemoli asked.

Tai shook his head. "I see that the _Masamune's _magic returned, but I don't understand why or how this makes the shield a 'death sentance' or how itimplies that it's unbreakable."

"The _Masamune _lost its power upon contact with the barrier," Veemoli explained. "It then regained its power when the contact was broken."

"I see," Randall said. "My arm was steady and I did not move away. Which means the barrier itself is shrinking."

"Why would the barrier be made to shrink on itself," Tai asked.

"Because," Veemoli said. "It is not meant to be used for defense. It is an offensive spell, intended to trap enemy forces. The longer the spell caster prepares the spell, the larger its area of effect. I once knew a wizard who used this spell to great effect on the battlefield. Great and terrible effect. The soldiers would call these things 'bubbles of death', because once you were caught in a bubble you did not get out alive.

"You all have witnessed what physical contact with it did to Wroff. The bubble traps its victims inside and contracts until it is touching all within. At which point they die, screaming. Because the only way for the spell to dissolve is the death of the caster, the very nature of the magic used in this spell makes it unsuitable for defense under almost any circumstance. This is unfortunately, the one circumstance that it is a perfect defense."

"The _Chrono Key _will activate before it closes in on him," Tai said in a half whisper, realization dawning on him. "Once he claims dominion over time he'll be able to sidestep around this self imposed death trap as though it wasn't there."

"Indeed," Veemoli said in despair. "Moving to a time where the bubble no longer existed will be as simple to him as walking around a large boulder would be to us."

"If I understand correctly," Kyui Wara said, "this _place _is called The Realm Beyond Time. If its truly outside of time, perhaps he cannot simply sidestep this thing. Is it possible that he has inadvertently trapped himself forever. Defeating himself in the process? It could be this is the best possible scenario for us."

Veemoli's eyes lit up as he considered the assassin's words. The uncompromising despair that had begun to consume Tai began to wane as the wizard spoke. "Yes...yes, it is possible. Here Beyond Time, perhaps Xavius has undone himself in his haste."

"That would be nice wouldn't it?" Xavius said unexpectedly. Tai gave an involuntary jump at the cold words. "Kyui Wara, my one time ally, you make a valid point, but even if the natural state of this world is timelessness, one such as myself who has dominion over time can simply create a needed time reference to manipulate. Even if that was an impossibility, which it is not, it would be a simple matter to simply leave the Realm entirely."

It was an unpleasant, sickening, sensation of surprise that Tai felt as the reminder sunk in. Xavius was there with them. Listening to them and mocking their futile attempts to beat him. If the two most experienced and powerful wizards there believed the barrier, the 'death bubble', was unbreakable, then how could Tai rationally doubt them? As much as he wanted to believe that both Xavius and Veemoli were wrong, he could not.

The truth, the horrible and final truth, was that Xavius had beat them in the end. Due to his coming transformation he had been able to use an unconventional technique to make himself unreachable, and Tai's last ditch effort to kill him had failed. The inflicted wound was not going to kill him before he transcended time. Xavius was physically beyond them. Soon he would be beyond them in ways they could not fathom.

"I suggest you use this time to prepare for the suffering you have earned by crossing me," Xavius said. "I will grant you mortals an eternity to regret the foolish choices you have made."

Like an ocean, despair pressed down on Tai. The weight of its utter and complete hopelessness pressed against him like a physical force. Life had become a nightmare with no means to wake from, and for the first time in his life Tai began wishing for death.

Death had always seemed like such a cowardly route to take when some form of life was possible. Tai had never understood suicide, nor had respect for those who would give up on their single precious life in any way.

What had he known? Until this moment Tai had not understood despair. He had not understood that sometimes death really was preferable over life. He had been an ignorant child, scoffing at those who had been burnt, never understanding the nature of fire.

The shadow of despair gripped not only Tai but those around him. Kyui Wara's perpetual cool was gone, now he shook with a silent anger, greater than any emotion Tai had seen the assassin show. His sister stood next to him, gripping his hand and crying. Randall held his downcast face in a hand. The ex-knight's anger mirroring that of the man he'd once sworn to kill. Paige and Penny were both pale. Tears formed in Gina's eyes. Wroff's face was a mask of shame. The big man looked up at Tai. "Wroff is sorry. Not strong enough..."

Only Refla looked calm. Tai's old teacher stood with his arms crossed, staring at Xavius who now wore the body of his student. His weathered face showed no fear or anger, only acceptance and a deep melancholy.

Tai wished he could be that strong. To face the coming dark with his head held high with pride. He could not. He wanted to scream. To rage at the unfairness of it all, and what if he acted like a child? It wouldn't matter, nothing mattered anymore.

A light grew within the bubble. A blue vortex swirled around Xavius like a miniature tornado of pure radiance. "The time is upon us!" He announced, his voice booming into the emptiness around them. "Witness the birth of your new god!"

While everyone else was drowning in their own powerlessness, Xavius alone was confident, he alone was empowered. He wielded that power like a weapon, and lorded it over those who had nothing left. His mocking laugh was wild with, not glee, it was far to cold to be included with the spectrum of joyful emotions. His laugh was wild with satisfaction, with power and victory, and it washed over them in a mocking chorus of ice cold triumph.

The end was truly upon them.

Gina shuddered as a sob ripped through her body. Tai put an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to give comfort that he couldn't offer. As his friend cried into his chest Tai caught Paige's eyes. She and her twin clung onto each other, their own tears running freely. She took Tai's hand and he gave it a small meaningless squeeze.

He wanted more than anything to give comfort, _real_ comfort, to them. To Gina who had been one of his best friends for the better part of his life, and to Paige, the girl he was only now realizing how much he loved.

Paige's flowing tears and Gina's racking sobs overwhelmed the frozen despair Xavius had instilled in him. Tai's anger changed. It no longer strangled him with apathy, instead it rose up against the man who was causing the fear and pain that was tormenting those he cared for. Tai couldn't stop Xavius. He knew this. He knew he wouldn't be able to face the end with the same calm and acceptance that Refla was, but he could face it with defiance. Even if this small pointless gesture was the extreme of what he could do. He would not bow away from Xavius. Not now and not ever. Tai raised his eyes, looking up at Xavius.

Time froze.

For as long as Tai could remember, he had known Flare. He remembered when they met Gina, one of the few children who hadn't cared that they were orphans. He remembered the day they'd first met Refla. Times spent training until exhaustion, and times spent playing silly games in the orphanage. Times spent with Lara and Taban, whose inventions were at times eccentric and on occasion genius. All the time spent with Flare, all of the memories they'd shared. All of the laughter and tears. The defeat and the triumph.

For a moment Tai did not move as he stared into the smoke like bubble. The blue vortex was growing more intense, and an area of an even deeper blue revealed the origin of the intensifying light to be his left fist. Without warning Tai let out a laugh so hard and unexpected that it almost caught in his throat.

Gina looked up confused, through reddened eyes. "Tai, I don't...what?"

For a moment Tai couldn't get the breath to speak, and he became aware of the attention he was now drawing from the others. "Gina," he said, "look him in the eyes."

Without understanding she did what he'd asked. For a moment she said nothing, then comprehension dawned and she gasped. "This is...," she began, "is it really?"

"What is going on?" Veemoli asked. "What is it?"

"Those eyes." Tai withdrew his arm from Gina's shoulders and wiped tears of mirth from his face. "Those are not Xavius's eyes."

A wide almost incredulous smile broke out on Tai's face as he looked over to the others who stared at him uncomprehending. He laughed again as he turned back to face his friend.

"Those are Flare's eyes."


	36. To Far Away Times

**Chapter 36: To Far Away Times**

The point to which people could cling onto hope bordered on the irrational. Xavius could not fault them too much, however, because in truth these people had come much closer to achieving their goals than had been probable. First they had followed him through time by means Xavius still did not know. Then their enigmatic gain of magic had fueled a surprise attack in the future that had been near disastrous. They'd even tracked him back to the point of the ceremony, again they had almost ruined his plans. Flare had taken a leap through an unstable Gate, which had then forced Xavius into taking the high risk gamble of using the body transfer. Even then they had not stopped. Tracking him all the way to the point where they could follow him into the Realm Beyond Time and delivering a near fatal wound that had again brought Xavius to the brink of defeat.

Time and time again these people had done what Xavius had discarded as impossible. Time and time again he had been forced to make narrow escapes that prolonged the game into the next phase. Now the game was over. Xavius had finally won. There would be no more close calls or last second miracles. Even still he could almost understand how hope, no matter how irrational, could tenaciously stick in their minds. So watching them erode their own hope down at the situations stark truth was highly enjoyable.

At one time Xavius had assumed Veemoli, a wizard from a time where magic was all but gone forever, had created the _Chrono Key_. Creating it only to lack the courage to actually use it, instead sealing it away. Now Xavius knew this was not the truth. Veemoli had been given the _Key_ by a force that flirted with incomprehension. The _Key_ itself was nothing more than a power play made by one godlike entity against another, of course Veemoli had never known the truth about it, otherwise he would not have made the choices he had.

Veemoli was the only one who understood the nature of his barrier, and the wizard had been left to enlighten the others about just how futile their situation was. Their hope, no matter how tenacious, bled away quickly as they realized that he truly was unreachable.

Kyui Wara made a final attempt to revive their hope by making an observation about how time would work inside the Realm. The traitorous assassin actually made a fairly rational argument. Their was no error in his reasoning. He just lacked the requisite knowledge in order to know the truth. With the _Chrono Key _augmenting his intelligence Xavius knew that when he ascended to the temporal dimensions he could escape his self imposed trap and would not be trapped like Kyui Wara had suggested. As Xavius ascended, he wanted them to know that all hope was lost, that it had only ever been an illusion.

Xavius shattered their final hope himself. As he spoke he felt a change in the _Chrono Key_ within him. The power within him shifted, and Xavius felt a moment of surprise at the alien sensation. It was finally upon him. The time of his ascension. The euphoria inside of him rose to a crescendo as he accepted the alien change. In stark contrast his enemies coward in fear and despair. A blue vortex of temporal energy had enveloped him unexpectedly, and Xavius accepted it as part of his apotheosis. He laughed as he allowed the vortex and the euphoria to overwhelm him. "The time is upon us! Witness the birth of your new god!"

They looked away too terrified to watch, or perhaps too ashamed of their past blasphemies. The only exception was the bald man who had bested Kyui Wara. He looked on in arrogance, refusing to show the proper fear of his new deity. He would suffer first.

Flare's friend lifted his head, his eyes full of impudent anger. Xavius met those eyes and knew that they would soon show only fear, but then the boy's eyes flickered with an emotion that was neither fear nor rage. It took only a moment to recognize. Did the fool truly still have hope? How could he show hope in the face of what stood against him?

Tai began to laugh. Then Gina saw whatever it was her friend had seen, and she laughed. A third laughter began. It was different than the others. The third laughter came from within.

_Impossible! _Xavius screamed the thought. _You cannot do this!_

The blue vortex grew stronger, and now Xavius could feel it originating from within his left hand. He looked down at his closed fist. He was holding something there, but he could not open the hand to see what it was. His movements were becoming jerky as his control over his new body waned. _What am I holding? What is happening?_

The laughter knew. The laughter that now echoed maddeningly in his skull. It was growing stronger as the blue vortex spun further out of control, and the thing in his fist pulsed with power. The laughter knew.

Flare's laughter.

* * *

The sensation of regaining control over his body was one of the most wonderful things Flare had ever felt. No longer was he powerless to watch as his friends stood on the precipice of annihilation.

At first his movements were erratic as Xavius clawed to keep control of the body he'd claimed as his own, but it took less than a minute before Flare's body was fully his own once again. Flare opened his hand and looked at the glowing blue orb with a smile.

_You've lost Xavius_, he thought inwardly, _I told you before: I always keep my promises._

_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!_

The sorcerer's thought shrieked inside Flare's head. _What have I done? _Flare thought in response. _I've retaken rightful control of my body, defeated a dark god before he could be born, and saved the lives of all the people I care about. _That_ is what I've done._

Flare could not see the singularity that he'd created, but he could feel it behind him. It had already begun to draw in the _Chrono Key _to which Flare had connected it. Xavius's soul, not having a true body of its own to be attached, would soon follow. After that the external most extension of Flare's soul, his magic, would get drawn in.

At that point Flare, along with his entire body, would have no choice but to follow.

Flare allowed this knowledge to pass to Xavius. He wanted the man to know what he'd been doomed to. _You are a fool, _the sorcerer screamed, _You've doomed us _both_ to an eternity of imprisonment! You have lost everything!_

_No, you're wrong, _Flare thought, _my life _is _precious to me, but so are the lives of my friends. Even if there is no way for me to survive this, they will. In the end I've saved what I care about most. You, Xavius, are the one who has lost everything. In a way I've given you the immortality you've sought. Spend it lamenting what I've made you lose._

A scream of such intensity that it caused Flare to physically wince in pain tore through his mind. The scream grew beyond a scream. It became an emotion. A pure force of rage and contempt. But beyond the hatred was only impotence.

The scream faded as Xavius's magic and his soul were pulled from Flare's body into the singularity. When the scream finally diminished beyond recognition Flare smiled and looked out to his friends. He was alone in his body once more.

* * *

A long stream of what Tai could only think of as darkness flowed out of his friend's back, traveling several feet behind Flare's body before coming to a stop where it tapered off into a single point. Beyond that point was nothing. As the darkness continued its exodus from within his friend it became mingled with another light, a multifaceted rainbow that swirled around the initial shadowy stream, growing stronger as the shadow grew less.

Flare's body trembled as the shadow was expunged. His face set in determination, and his eyes still aglow with the light of victory. The shadow ran its course, leaving only the bright rainbow that was now tinged with a new stream, one of fire. Flare's face relaxed and he looked up, smiling at them. Tai could see that whatever struggle that had transpired was now finished. His friend was now wholly his own person once again.

* * *

Flare beheld his friends and allies. Their faces were etched with confusion and worry, but also with hope. "Xavius is gone. First there is something I have to do, and then I'll explain what I can."

The _Chrono Key_, which had taken the form of pure energy once it had fused with a human soul, was now leaving his body, but Flare still had access to enough of its power to do what he needed. First he imposed gravity and an invisible plane to act as a floor onto the Realm. This would make the Gate creation slightly easier, plus it just felt more natural to be standing than floating. Everyone around him tensed slightly as weight made an unexpected return to their bodies. At Flare's side _Crimson Eon _fell from where it had floated since Xavius had released it, landing with a metallic clang. Next Flare created the Gates. Five of them. All red. Unlike the blue Gates they had come to grow familiar with, the red ones were far less permanent. Once closed they would vanish forever.

The smoky consistency of Xavius's barrier faded past transparency and into nothing, a final echo of the man who had made it. Flare smiled out at his friends who now stood around him in a wide semicircle, looking on without knowing what to expect. "Well, Xavius is gone, forever this time. We...I...don't have much time, but I'll be able to explain everything that's happened here. You've all done so much to help prevent this calamity that at the very least you should understand some of it."

Tai beamed at his friend as he and Gina started to move to him. "I can't believe you did it!"

Flare held his hands up again and called out, stalling his friends' approach and quieting the chorus of voices that had all rose at once, "Wait! Please you can't come any closer!"

Gina still smiled, though it was deluded with worry. "Why? What's going on Flare."

Flare raised the shining blue stone he still held in his left hand. "This is the time stone that you gave us Refla. This is how Xavius was defeated ."

"Please explain," said Veemoli. "I don't understand how a stone such as that would have the power to lay low that sorcerer."

"Not only that," Tai said groping at his pockets. "How did you get it?"

"When Xavius's soul invaded my body we both fought over its control," Flare explained. "For a while we were locked in a stalemate, but then Xavius stopped vying directly for my mind and instead seized control of the _Chrono Key_, which had been transferred into me along with his soul. One of the _Chrono Key's _properties is to enhance the mind of whoever controls it. It expands your intellect and knowledge in order for you to fully comprehend and make use of its powers. This expansion is what gave him the edge to take total control.

"During his fight with Tai, I regained awareness of what was happening. With that awareness I also got some measure of control back. It wasn't much, but I learned that I could manipulate Xavius in small ways. The manipulations had to be undetectable though, they had to be suggestions that Xavius would not reject as illogical or detrimental. That was how I altered his motions into a pattern that you Tai, were able to recognize and exploit. My initial plan was just to have myself killed and stop Xavius that way, but even though my vitals were missed the unexpected shock of pain caused Xavius's control to momentarily slip. In that moment I managed to get the time stone from Tai's pocket. I could sense its presence through my own connection with the _Chrono Key_.

"Control of the time stone was mine alone, Xavius did not know I had taken it. Its control over time is minor, even negligible, when compared to the _Chrono Key _itself, but it gave me the edge I needed to wrench control of the _Chrono Key's _power away from Xavius. While he prematurely celebrated his victory, I used its power to tear a small hole in time. A singularity that leads not beyond time, but underneath it. I latched Xavius's soul onto the singularity. That's where his soul is now. He's gone forever, along with the _Chrono Key_ itself. Where I've sent him he can never return, and he can never use the powers granted by the _Key_. In that place even its powers are useless."

"His soul is, however, still attached to my own. Even now my magic is flowing into the singularity. I'm sorry, Gina, Tai, but this was the only way."

Gina's face sunk as the words hit her like a physical blow. "No. No, there has to be something..."

"There is nothing we can do," Flare said with grim acceptance. "If any of you comes near me you'll be pulled in it yourself. Either by your own magic, or by the residual connection to the _Chrono Key _that the girls who had the _Key Fragments _have. If any of you got pulled into this I could never forgive myself."

"Oh Flare," Gina said as tears returned to her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," Flare said with a shrug. "Not the way I'd wanted it all to end, but your safe, and Xavius can never hurt anybody ever again, that's what's most important to me. While I still had control over the _Chrono Key _I created those Gates. They'll take everyone back home, but first I still have a little time for goodbyes and a little explanation."

"What kind of explanation?" Tai said, his voice heavy with grief.

"Xavius wanted power, and the _Chrono Key _was a means to that end, but the real reason behind all of this is the _Chrono Key _itself. That thing has had an effect on all of us, and we all deserve an explanation." Flare turned to Veemoli. "And none of us has had to bare the burden of not knowing the truth longer than you.

"We've all been part of a war. This war is beyond our scope in many ways. There are forces out there, sentient beings, but compared to us they are gods. One of these gods, these entities, is familiar. Almost like it is a normal part of this world, part of us. I can only explain by saying that this entity _belongs_. The other one I know even less about. It is alien in some way. It does not _belong_, but it exists, and it will sacrifice all life in the world, even the life of the planet itself, for its own ends. The first entity has struggled against the later in order to stop this planet wide extinction.

"I can only guess, but I believe this second power is in fact that being from your old book, Veemoli, the one you called _The Origin of Magic._ The oldest name for this being is Lavos. The first entity I know no name for, so I'll simply call it the Entity. These beings have clashed for unknown ages. The Entity struck its first blow when it broke a piece off of Lavos. This piece became known as the Frozen Flame, and when mankind first came in contact with it magic was born. It was born from Lavos, but in time the magic grew to be part of the human soul and became part of who we are. This is why Wroff and the people of his time cannot use magic. Humans had yet to come into contact with the Frozen Flame.

"With this magic, taken from the thing that would destroy us and given by the Entity, people were supposed to be able to destroy Lavos when it finally moved against life. Lavos countered this plan by playing off simple human greed. When magic was at the height of its power during the reign of Zeal, Lavos allowed the people of that magic kingdom to taste his power in its pure form. In their hubris they tried to claim it for their own and were overwhelmed. They brought about their own destruction and caused the downfall of magic. Those who had partaken of Lavos's power found that without it their own innate magic ceased to function. The downfall of Zeal was so terrible that people grew afraid of the remaining magic. Those who continued to use it were persecuted until it became a distant memory, and then nothing more than myth.

"With the first plan failed a new one took form. This time the Entity took a piece from itself to be used as a weapon against Lavos. This piece was the _Chrono Key_. The Entity imbued it with the power to ascend a single mortal above the restrictions of mundane time, so that they could manipulate world events so that Lavos would be destroyed. Part of the knowledge granted by the _Chrono Key _was the purpose behind it. The knowledge of Lavos and why it must be destroyed. Veemoli, you were chosen to be the savior of our world. The Entity knew that you were a man not only with the power and intelligence to defeat Lavos, but one who would willingly forsake the power over time once your mission was complete.

"Again Lavos countered. It tainted the message the _Chrono Key _was to impart. Instead of you knowing that you were the only one who should use it, the message instead made you believe that you were the only one who could _not _use it. The knowledge about Lavos and the reasons for the _Chrono Key _were also blocked. This lead you to instead realize the potential for disaster and attempt to seal it away."

The old wizard was visibly stunned by the revelations. "How then do you know this? And what of this _thing, _this _Lavos, _if what you say is true then without the _Chrono Key _the world may still be doomed."

"Either the message was altered specifically in regards to you, or because it was broken down into component parts and filtered through human souls it became whole again. Xavius knew the true purpose behind the _Chrono Key_, once he had taken it in, but to him that knowledge was trivial, he'd never have given the power up. I wouldn't have dared to harness the power myself, not with Xavius vying for control of my body," Flare paused and gave a small smile. "Again I'm only guessing, but I don't think we'll have to worry about Lavos. The war must have continued even after the _Chrono Key _failed. The man from the End of Time, Gasper, said something to me about a group who managed to 'change the future'. I think the Entity continued to put events into motion and finally won the war. Either way, our own part in this war, your own part Veemoli, is finally over. When you go home you can finally live in peace. You've earned it."

Veemoli said nothing for a moment as he absorbed what had been said. Then the features on the old man's face softened as years worth of tension melted off of him. "Flare, dear boy, my only remaining regret after all of this is that I am the one who brought you into this. For that I am truly sorry."

"No," Flare shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. You did what you could with everything you had. The blame for how this has turned out should only be placed on Xavius, perhaps even Lavos, but not you."

The wizard smiled sadly and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Then it is time for us to take our leave. If you say an apology is not needed, I will not insult your honor by forcing one on you, but I will thank you. My thanks is for all of you here, for without you even my most carefully laid plans would have ended with disaster for the entire world. So thank you everyone. Thank you, Flare."

Flare nodded to the wizard as he and his daughter turned toward the red Gate directly to his front. Cassandra turned to face them one last time and said her own thanks, then the two stepped into the Gate which continued to swirl momentarily before blinking out of existence.

"We'll depart now as well," Kyui Wara said after the wizard's Gate had closed. "You had great potential as a swordsman, Flare. I would have liked to have faced you again."

Riiza smiled, likely to make up for her brother's innate coldness. "Thank you for everything, Flare. You've helped me and Kyui Wara more than my brother will probably ever admit. Goodbye everyone."

As the assassin and his sister started for their own Gate, Flare turned to Randall. "I know this probably isn't ideal for you, but to conserve energy I was only able to make one Gate for your time, sorry."

The ex-knight half shrugged. "That is fine. Kyui Wara and I have an...understanding now. Before I go let me offer my thanks as well. And to say that you are one of the most courageous men I've ever met."

"The same to you, friend," Flare said. "Maybe its not my place to say this, but once you've brought justice to the man responsible for your brother's death, you should rejoin the Square Table. I know the knights could use you, and I believe its what your brother would want."

"If the King will forgive my selfishness, It will be my honor to return to service," Randall said and then turned to the others. "Farewell, Tai. It has been an honor knowing you. And you as well, Wroff, Paige."

The ex-knight quickly clasped hands with those who'd become his allies and then with Gina and Penelope. Stepping up next to Kyui Wara and Riiza, the three moved as one into the Gate.

Wroff turned from where Randall's Gate had been and looked over to Flare. "Wroff say goodbye now."

With a bitter sweet smile Flare nodded at the large man. The goodbyes were happening so fast that it was hard to keep from being overwhelmed, but time was not something Flare had much of. "You've been a good friend, Wroff. Thank you for lending us your strength."

"You all strong too," Wroff said, his boyish grin almost keeping his face from looking sad. "Wroff glad to make many strong friends. Flare is strongest friend. Goodbye, strong friend."

The towering caveman walked to Gate farthest to Flare's left. "Goodbye, strong friend," Flare repeated and turned to the remaining five. "Paige, thanks for the help, and for showing me where to get this haircut. At least now I'll go out in style."

The blonde girl let out a reflexive giggle at his joke. "Without you Flare I'd never have gotten my sister back. I'll always be in your debt, and the hair does suite you."

Her twin nodded. "Thanks for helping my sister, and for helping to save me."

As the two sisters began toward their Gate, Paige hesitated, turning to Tai with a pained expression on her face. "Tai, I..."

Tai tried to reply but had become nearly as tongue tied as she was. It was clear that his friend was having a fierce internal struggle. "Paige," Tai said. "This is.. I guess.."

"Oh Tai," Gina exclaimed suddenly. "Just go with her."

Tai turned in surprise. "But I..."

Gina shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks. "But what Tai? Its obvious the way you two feel about each other. If you don't take this chance now you'll regret it for the rest of your life, and don't try to pretend you have some responsibility to Flare to look after me. I'll be fine."

Tai stammered in response, "Gina..."

With her face flushing slightly red Gina's voice rose, "Tai, I know you want to go with Paige, and if you don't step through that Gate I swear I'll push you through it! Somebody deserves a happy ending in all of this!"

Tai blinked and turned to Paige. She was blushing but also smiling. "If you want to come to our time...I..." She closed her eyes and paused. When they opened again her face was set with resolve. "Tai, I want you to come with me."

A smile replaced the conflict on Tai's face. He turned back to Gina. "Thanks, Gina."

Gina hugged him as he spoke, then stepped away so Refla could place his hands on his student's shoulders. "Tai, ye're one of the two bravest men I've ever had the pleasure o' knowin'. Ye're like a son to me, an' I'll miss ye, but ye go live yer own life now. Let it be a happy one, an' ye better keep practicin' yer sword skill's. Ye've got real talent, an' it shouldn't be wasted no matter what era ye live in."

"Thank you, Refla. For teaching us, for being the father we never had, for all of the help you've ever given us. I won't neglect the training I've been given. Goodbye." Tai said to his teacher and then turned to his friend. "Flare, you're more than my friend. You're my brother and I'll never forget you."

"Same to you, brother," Flare said as emotion constricted his voice. "Paige, make sure you take care of this guy for me, okay?"

Paige tried to speak, but emotion had taken her voice, and she just nodded tearfully to Flare as Tai gripped her hand. "Goodbye everyone," he said, and with a final look and a wave he stepped into the Gate alongside Paige and her sister.

With the departure of his best friend the finality of everything became real to Flare, and he could no longer hold back his tears.

"Ye became a great man," Refla said to him. "I couldn't be more proud of ye."

With those last words his teacher walked over to the final red Gate, leaving Flare alone to spend a final moment with the woman he loved. Gina tried smiling but could do little more than shake with grief.

"I wish we had more time," Flare said. "There's so much I'd like to say, but even if I had a lifetime I might not finish. I love you, Gina. I love you more than anyone or anything. Be happy, please live a life happy enough for both of us."

Even as he spoke he could feel himself getting pulled further back towards the singularity. Gina nodded as she wiped tears from her face. "I love you too. I love you so much, Flare. Thank you for saving me, and thank you for being a part of my life..."

Flare continued to inch backwards as she spoke. Knowing that there wasn't much time, Refla walked back to her and gently took her by her shoulders, leading her to their Gate. As she stood next to the whirling red Gate that would forever separate them Flare could see the heartbreak on her downcast, tear stricken face. At that moment he realized two things. The first was that this was the last memory they'd ever have together. The second was that he did not want it to be one of such overwhelming heartache.

There was no way for their farewell not to be sorrowful, but...

But at the same time he'd known since he'd chosen to go through that damaged Gate alone after Xavius, no, even before that, from the time he'd gone through that first Gate with Tai, he had known he might not come back home. He'd known that their enemy was the kind that you did not face and come away unscathed. He'd accepted that back then, and the truly unthinkable thoughts had been that of Tai dying or of failing to save Gina. Those thoughts that he'd refused to acknowledge had been the ones that had terrified him the most. To prevent those possibilities from becoming real, at any time he would have gladly sacrificed himself.

His death was trivial in this light. Both Tai and Gina were safe now. They both would continue to live and have a chance at happiness. It was this thought that brought forth a fire in his soul that conquered his sadness. It wasn't that the monumental sorrow of his impending death and this farewell became less, but next to the pure joy he felt in knowing that Gina was alive and would continue to live, his sadness was nothing.

A smile broke out on his face, obscuring his tears behind its warmth. He called out, causing her to look up in surprise at his tone. "Gina, live a happy life! I mean it! You've got to be happy enough for the both of us! I'm counting on you!"

She saw his face and at first said nothing, staring into his pure smile. Then coughed out a laugh, almost involuntarily. Her tears didn't diminish, but she was helpless not to break into a smile of her own. "I love you, and I promise."

Gina and Refla stepped backward into the Gate and were gone the following instant. Flare closed his eyes, letting the image of her last smile burn itself into his mind. Slowly he opened them again and gazed into the emptiness. Next to his feet lay _Crimson Eon_.

Flare bent down and retrieved his katana, the battle finally over, sheathed it at his side.


	37. Legacy of a Hero

**Chapter 37: Legacy of a Hero**

Randall carefully climbed down the tree's rain slicked trunk, holding the small package in his teeth. Landing with a small thud onto the grassy forest floor he dropped the package into his hands. The package was a small rectangular box that was wrapped in oiled paper in order to protect its contents from the elements it was exposed to regularly.

Any suspicions Randall had held about the somewhat conspicuous hiding place had been displaced. Even if people frequented the cathedral they rarely wandered or hunted the surrounding woods. That and the fact that harvesting the timber surrounding the cathedral was illegal made the random tree an ideal hiding place. Even having the burnt tree as a landmark Randall had climbed three separate trees before finding the package.

Peeling away the paper layer Randall opened the small box and removed its contents. A single piece of parchment. Holding his breath he read the note.

He read it again and began to shake with rage.

A part of him had been hoping that Kyui Wara had been lying. It would have been much simpler to curse himself as naive for believing the assassin than to accept this truth. The note was written in Sir Geoffrey Waterchild's hand and asked specifically for his brother's assassination. It was complete with the Waterchild seal. The confession was damming. The rational part of Randall's mind that wasn't consumed in thoughtless rage wondered how a man could willingly allow such blatant proof of their crime to exist. Apparently an assassin of Kyui Wara's caliber was worth the risk. That and the fact that formal written requests such as this one had never actually been brought public before. As long as he was not betrayed, Kyui Wara had a well earned reputation for discretion on behalf of his clients.

It was a reputation that was about to be shattered.

The castle guards had recognized him in an instant. They also recognized the legendary sword he wore at his side and instantly allowed him to pass, sending a runner ahead to deliver the news: Randall had returned, and he had brought the _Masamune_ with him.

By time Randall reached the King's audience chamber the castle was buzzing with the intensity of a disturbed hornet's nest. Inside the chamber King Guardia sat on his throne. Several Knights of the Square Table stood in front of the throne in two parallel rows. A few of the knights were new, however, Randall recognized most of the others, and _he _was among them. _Waterchild_. The man was shorter than Randall and close to twenty years his senior. Even still he was strong and fit. The only sign of his advancing years was the streaks of gray that now peppered his shortly cropped hair and neatly trimmed beard.

King Guardia was still a relatively young man. His dark eyes revealed both curiousness and surprise at Randall's return. Pleasant surprise. "Sir Randall, you have returned to us, bearing the _Masamune _no less!"

A few of the knights smiled welcomingly, but a few scowled, their opinion of him was, and rightfully so, tarnished because of his selfish abandonment of the Kingdom. None looked as angry as Waterchild. "Your Majesty, how can you welcome this, this _deserter, _back with open arms? He left us when our Kingdom needed him the most. This man dishonors that sword with his touch!"

A few knights nodded with approval, but others gave Waterchild irritated looks, as though he'd gone too far. The King opened his mouth to say something, likely placating, to the angry knight, but Randall cut them off. "You dare judge me!" he said louder than he'd intended. "Yes, I am a _deserter. _I may not be worthy of this sword or of the title 'knight', but a will _not_ suffer judgment from you, _traitor_!"

The room went still. The knights and the King may not known what to expect from his return, but it had not been this. Waterchild visibly paled.

"You, you call me a traitor?" he sputtered with forced indignation. "How dare you speak of me as such, you filthy coward!"

"Coward?" Randall roared. "You label me a coward? I am not the one who hired an assassin to murder a fellow knight!"

Randall's outburst was punctuated with a simultaneous gasp given by those in the chamber. Waterchild paled further. "How...how dare..."

"Randall," the King said carefully, "do you have proof to back up this accusation?"

Wordlessly Randall held out the recently recovered parchment. An older knight, Sir Gunter, stepped forward and took the parchment, moving toward the King.

"Preposterous!" Waterchild said as he visibly shook, but with fear or rage Randall could not tell. The rest of the Square Table shifted nervously, hands hovered near their sword hilts as each man watched Waterchild warily. Sir Gunter was steady as he passed Waterchild. If the traitor made a move for the parchment he would be ready.

The tension eased slightly as the parchment passed the accused and made it too the King. In that moment when everyone's guard lowered Waterchild made his move, drawing his sword and rushing Randall with a scream of fury. Randall had expected this. Destroying the parchment would be just as damming as the evidence itself. The old knight knew he was beaten. His only desire was revenge on the man who'd just destroyed his entire life.

Shouting erupted in the chamber as the knights began drawing their swords in response to Waterchild's attack, but he was beyond their reach before they could stop him. The _Masamune _sung oddly harmonious against the discord of shouting as Randall drew the shimmering blade. Waterchild's scream changed from rage to pain as his sword clattered to the ground along with two of his fingers.

The knight fell to his knees, clutching his mutilated hand, as several other knights surrounded him in a ring of sharpened steel. The King stood with his own sword halfway drawn. Letting it fall back into its scabbard he read the note Sir Gunter had just handed to him. "If your actions hadn't already condemned you, this surely would have. I recognize your hand, and this seal is authentic. Geoffrey, how could you?"

Ignoring the King, Waterchild glared up at Randall. "Why hesitate? Kill me now and have your revenge."

Randall's eyes never left Waterchild's as he slowly and easily sheathed the _Masamune_. "I will see your head roll and have my revenge, but it will not be by this sword. No, you will face the guillotine like a common criminal, only after you've been put on trial and disgraced before the entire Kingdom."

Looking at the bleeding man as though he'd never before seen the wretch, King Guardia spoke to the knights surrounding him. "Take this man to the dungeons."

Randall watched them escort the man behind his brother's murder out of the chamber. The King walked up and put a hand on Randall's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Randall. I know he was close to you and Richard. I can only imagine how hard this must be."

Randall nodded, Geoffrey Waterchild had been a mentor to him and his brother, this betrayal was nearly as painful as his brother's death. "Your Majesty, I humbly ask your forgiveness. I have selfishly forsaken the Kingdom I swore to protect in my quest for vengeance."

"There is no need," the King said. "Selfish or not, you've uprooted a traitor that should never have been a member of the Square Table. Will you resume your service as a knight?"

"Yes Your Majesty," Randall said with a low bow. "It would be my honor."

"Good, good," the King said as he returned to his throne. "There is a problem in the Denadoro Mountains. That I believe you may be able to solve with the aid of the _Masamune_."

"Problem, Your Majesty?"

"A creature calling itself the Frog King has allied itself with the mystics. This monster has been harassing our supply caravans in the region and has thus far proven too much for any soldiers we've sent after it, but with your skill along with the Holy Sword..."

"I understand Your Majesty," Randall said as he made another low bow. "It is time that I began repaying the dept I owe to Guardia."

* * *

Riiza frowned into the mirror. "I don't think I'll ever get used to my hair being this black. It's just so...different."

"It's a necessary precaution," Kyui Wara said as he put the last of his supplies into his bag. His own hair was not only jet black as well, but also cut so that it was only a few inches long, shorter than he'd ever worn it. "Our natural hair is uncommon enough that it will draw the attention of those who'll be shortly hunting me, and they'll as soon target you if it will help them claim my head."

"I know," Riiza said, "but if we're hiding our identities anyway couldn't you just stay and wait it out?"

"No," he said. "Every client I've ever had will fear me turning them in. I've betrayed one, so they have no way of knowing who could be next. Enough of them are important enough that they can't risk the truth coming to light. They'll have other assassins coming for me and won't rest until I've been silenced forever."

"So you're really just going to kill them all?" Riiza sounded more than a little sickened as she spoke the thought aloud.

"I am," Kyui Wara said as he reached the door to their small house. "Stay here. Porre should be safe for the time being, but if anything happens and you can no longer stay, I'll meet you at one of the other locations."

"I know," Riiza said. "I'm sure it won't come to that though. I'll be waiting for you to come back, okay?"

"I know."

Night had already fallen as Kyui Wara departed the small house. The Waterchild scandal had already spread as far south as Porre. Assassins were probably already starting their hunt for him. An almost poetic end to his own career as one of their own, for his blades would never again be used to kill for money.

But they still had plenty of blood to spill in the name of survival.

* * *

The sidewalks were flooded with people, moving with a confident yet hurried flow, as they went about their daily lives, while the roads themselves hummed with the continuous movement of metallic vehicles. The trio stood before a tall vertical building, craning their necks in order to observe its full height. Above even the towering structure was the dome, its shimmering surface a nearly invisible bubble surrounding the vast city of Truce. Some passersby gave the trio's out of place clothing curious looks, though none said anything as they moved on.

Letting out a low whistle Crono was genuinely impressed. "These future cities are far more impressive when they're not in ruins."

"I think what impresses me the most," Lucca said in reply, "is how populous the future is now. Truce Dome contains many times the people that the Truce of our time does, and I bet the other cities are equally massive."

"It really gives you a sense of how destructive Lavos really was," Marle said. "All these people...dead."

"Would be dead," Crono corrected with a grin. "The Day of Lavos has come and gone. These are the people we saved. All of these people."

"Yes," Lucca said, walking to the large doors that lead into the building. "These people and all of the future generations to be born from them."

Crono and Marle followed her into the building. "I guess this is it," Crono said as he double checked a small piece of paper. "This is definitely the address to the building that the people Mom's note mentioned live in. You're sure we're in the right year, Lucca?"

She gave him a sidelong look. "You trust the Epoch, don't you? We're in the right year all right. The mystery is why did your mom come here? Why this year and these people? How does she even know people from the future?"

Crono shrugged as they entered an elevator and hit the appropriate floor's button. "You know, I thought my mom was a bit too accepting of my recent friends. Really, who shrugs off their son bringing home a robot?"

"Not to mention a frogman and a cave woman," Lucca agreed.

"So do you think your mom knew we were time traveling all along?" Marle asked.

"Maybe," Crono said. "At the very least she figured it out and must have heard us when we explained how that last Gate worked to the others."

"Just imagine the time and place you want to go," Lucca said. "That last Gate that everyone was able to go through to get to their own times. Almost an omni-Gate really. She probably also heard us talk about the Epoch too. She knew we had a machine that could go to any time period. Your mom saw an opportunity to visit people she knew in the future and took it."

"Yes," Crono said, "and she used my poor pet care as an excuse."

"You really should remember to feed your cat," Marle chided.

"Saving the world, saving the world." Crono said with feigned exasperation.

"This is the right door," Lucca said, coming to a stop. "I guess we'll figure out the mystery shortly."

Crono knocked on the door and waited. A man's voice called out from the other side, "Come in."

The door was unlocked and the knob turned easily, opening the door, Crono walked in and was instantly greeted by a mewling orange cat. "Well, assuming these people don't have a cat exactly identical to mine, I'd say we have the right place." Crono picked the cat up, absent mindedly petting it while he looked around the hallway he'd just entered.

The walls were decorated with family photos. Many of the pictures were of three young children, two girls and a boy, all with blonde hair. Judging from their parents' pictures they'd inherited that from their mother. She and their father, a stocky man with short brown hair, were strangely familiar looking to Crono, though he couldn't place were he'd seen them before. To one side was a large glass cabinet that contained several plaques and trophies, some of which depicted, to Crono's surprise, a man wielding a katana. While the katana was his weapon of choice, it wasn't a commonly used style of sword. Besides himself and his teacher, Refla, Crono knew of few people in Guardia who used the weapon.

Turning right at the end of the hall Crono stepped out into a larger living room. His mom sat in a large comfortable looking chair opposite of a long couch where the man and woman from the hallway pictures sat. "Err...I got your note," Crono said to his mom as the three stopped talking at his appearance.

She smiled up at him. "I thought you'd find it if I left it on the fridge. I swear you eat as much as ten men. Your dad was the same way."

The stocky man stood from his place on the couch and stared at Crono in wide eyed surprise. He looked to be in his late thirties, was slightly shorter than Crono, and had the strong, well muscled, build of someone in peak physical shape, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes. Where had Crono seen him before? He was simultaneously certain that he recognized the man, and that he'd never met him before in his life.

Your mom's right," he said. "You do look just like him."

"Right," Crono said. "Who?"

"Your father. Especially with that hair."

Crono blinked. His mom had just mentioned his dad too. "Do I..." Crono began to ask if he knew the man, but the familiarity suddenly kicked in. "That's where I know you from. That picture of my dad with all of his friends. You're Tai."

Tai stepped forward and gripped Crono's hand. "I was good friends with your dad, but I never thought I'd get to meet you. I didn't even know Flare had a son until a couple of days ago!" Still smiling broadly Tai turned and shook Lucca's hand next. "You must be Taban and Lara's daughter. I hear your even smarter than your dad."

"Oh," Lucca said in surprise at the man's recognition of her. "Thanks."

"You must be Princess Nadia," Tai said, almost reaching out for a her hand, only to stop himself and go into a bow.

"Please," she said, reaching out and taking his hand. "Just call me Marle."

"Right," Tai agreed. "Well, Marle, the King and Queen didn't have any children yet when I still lived in Truce, your Truce that is, so all three of you are like one big surprise, but Gina's been telling us all about you."

His wife, a pretty woman with shoulder length blonde hair and clear blue eyes, had stood to shake hands with them as well. "I'm Paige. I had the honor of knowing your father."

Crono shook her hand, as he continued to piece the puzzle together. "Yeah, I recognize you from the same photograph that Tai was in. It's one of the few pictures I have of my dad. But the future? I thought Mom said you'd both moved to..."

"Choras?" Crono's mom asked with a smile. "If they'd really only lived in Choras, I _would_ have visited them before now."

"It is hard to visit friends when you count the distance in centuries rather than miles," Tai said. "It's amazing to me that you'd get caught up in time travel, just like we did."

"All of you? Mom, you and Dad...," Crono said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well," Gina said with a shrug. "The true story was just too implausible. I didn't think you'd believe me, and I really couldn't have blamed you for not."

"You'll stay for a little while won't you?" Paige asked them. "Besides all the story telling that I'm sure we'll get to, I'd really like you to meet our children."

Crono had agreed with Lucca and Marle that the safest thing to do was to dismantle the Epoch. It would be simply too dangerous in the wrong hands, but they could always do so after a short vacation of visiting some of his mom's, and dad's, friends...in the future. "Of course," he answered, then looked to Lucca and Marle.

"We'd love to!" Marle said excitedly. "I've never heard much about your dad, Crono."

"I don't see we shouldn't," Lucca said, "and I wouldn't mind spending a little time tinkering with the current tech while we're here."

"Excellent!" Tai declared. "I don't suppose you would mind sparring with me a little later on? I actually own a few dojos now, and I'm sure my students would benefit by seeing how skilled someone their own age can be. Your mom tells me that your amazing."

"Refla says he's the most talented student he's ever had," Gina said proudly.

"Believe me, that's not praise lightly given," Tai said. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't exited to see what you can do."

"I'd love to spar," Crono said, growing a little exited himself. "There's no way I'd miss a chance to pit myself against someone else Refla's taught."

Tai slapped Crono happily across the shoulders. "It's a plan then."

Crono's mind turned to his dad. He reached up and touched his lucky white bandanna, one of the few heirlooms he'd inherited from Flare. He'd always been told that his father had died heroically, saving his mom. The story while sad had always made Crono proud of the man he'd never met, but now there was a new element to this story. Crono knew the true story would also end with his father's death, but his dad had been involved in time travel! This new connection with his dad, more than anything else, exited Crono and ignited his imagination. He needed to know this secret truth he'd never even known existed.

"About my dad," Crono said. "What _is _the true story? What really happened to him?"

Tai smiled wistfully. "Yes, I can see that you'd be impatient to hear the truth now that you know about it, but where to start?"

Crono, Marle and Lucca sat on an adjacent couch as Tai and Paige retook their own seats. "Start anywhere," Crono said.

"For us it all began," Tai said with a nod toward Lucca, "on the day we went to visit Taban and Lara..."


	38. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Flare held his eyes closed against the blank white world that he was soon to die in. He'd been alone for mere seconds, but already his time had run out. The singularity of his own creation continued to pull him back, now with increased intensity. Flare stumbled as he was drug closer to death.

He'd accepted his fate and made peace with it. That didn't change the fact that the prospect of imminent death was terrifying.

The part of Flare that refused to quit made him lunge forward, futilely trying to pull away from the singularity's grasp. His back grew hot as his magic, in the form of pure fire, continued its exodus from his body. He moved a foot forward and then two, but the little momentum he had, slowed as he barely gained an additional inch. The suction grew further, and he was pulled back, losing the distance he'd struggled to achieve. Every muscle in his body grew tight as he resisted the death he knew was coming.

His breathing grew ragged and he became light headed. Blood, hot and sticky stained his tunic red. He'd lost too much. He just wasn't strong enough...

Flare let himself relax. This was it. It was unavoidable, he was going to die.

"Wroff not let Flare die!"

Flare's eyes shot open as the familiar voice boomed around him. The caveman stood to his left and with incredible quickness grabbed Flare by his arms and began to pull him away from the frenzied singularity.

The shock of Wroff's appearance caused Flare's mind to go momentarily blank. The caveman shouldn't have been there. Flare had seen him depart through the Gate back to his own time.

Or had he?

He'd seen the others depart, and he'd said his farewells to Wroff, but had he actually seen the large man go through the Gate? Tearing his eyes away from Wroff's massive form he looked behind him. A lone red Gate still spun.

Wroff hadn't gone through it.

"You can't be here!" Flare yelled. "Dammit Wroff you're going to die! Drop me and go through the Gate!"

Wroff pulled him further toward the red vortex, his muscles straining with the effort. "Wroff not die! Flare not die either!"

Having come so close to the singularity Wroff should have already been trapped, yet it was clear he hadn't been. Then Flare understood. Wroff had no connection with the _Chrono Key_, nor did he have magic of his own, not even the innate potential for magic. As long as the caveman didn't walk straight into the singularity by his own accord, it could have no power over him.

As they moved further away from the singularity, the force pulling on Flare only grew. Wroff had made it further away than Flare had, but it wasn't enough. "Let go of me and get through your Gate!" Flare yelled frantically. "You can't save me, Wroff! It's just not possible!"

Wroff looked at Flare, his eyes shining with determination. "Wroff strong enough to save friend!"

With a yell of defiance Wroff released his grip on Flare's arms and instead grabbed him around the torso. He let out an agonized scream as his arms were burnt by Flare's fire, but the superior grip gave him the edge he needed to overpower the singularity.

The sickening smell of burning flesh seared Flare's nostrils as he was marched steadily away from the singularity. He started to yell out again for Wroff to let him ago and escape, but his voice caught in his throat as an unparalleled pain pierced him.

Unlike Xavius's soul, which had not fully attached itself to Flare's body, Flare's own soul could not simply get pulled out. It would take death to separate his soul from his body, but the part of Flare's soul which housed his magic had been brought to its limit. The core of Flare's innate power began to rip from his body, rendering his mind blank with pain. Flare's scream mingled with Wroff's.

"WROFF STRONG ENOUGH TO SAVE FRIEND!"

With the final bellow of defiance Wroff stepped backwards into the final red Gate. The world began to spin around Flare, as the already unfathomable pain somehow grew more intense. Flare's mind reached its limit, his scream dropping away into silence as he fell mercifully into unconsciousness. The last vestiges of his magic were torn from his body and soul, flowing into the singularity.

Flare's unconscious body, his soul magicless but intact, instead traveled through the Gate with Wroff.

* * *

Summer had come and gone, and if the chilling breeze was any indication, autumn was fading into winter. The cemetery was empty when Refla crested the hilltop and reached his destination.

He carried with him two swords. His own katana, as well as a perfect replica of _Crimson Eon._

Flare's tombstone was easy to find, and Refla walked to the empty grave. "Taban thought ye should have this," Refla said, holding the replica out toward the grave. "Because we didn't have yer real sword, he went through all the trouble just to make ye another one, to enshrine yer grave with."

Refla admired the craftsmanship of the blade for a moment, Taban was truly unparalleled at the forge, then he examined the small slit at the tombstone's top surface. The stone had been made from the beginning to hold the katana, but it had taken Taban time to forge the adornment, and it had remained empty until that day.

"The others are all comin' today to pay some more respects to ye," Refla said as he propped the naked blade against the gravestone. "I told 'em that I wanted to come first an' present the blade to ye me self. They all think it's got somethin' to do with me bein' the one who trained ye with the sword, but it's not."

Refla drew his own katana from its scabbard, holding it before the gravestone, he began to unwrap the old gray cloth from its handle. "I just thought ye'd like to have the real thing."

With the cloth gone, Refla admired his sword, the _Crimson Eon_, for a moment and then slid it into place on top of the tombstone.

He'd once seen a knight's grave decorated in a similar fashion, though, it had been Taban's idea to enshrine Flare's grave in this way. Picking up the replica, Refla slowly began wrapping its handle with the aged cloth. "I guess it's time we had a talk. All these years I've kept a secret from you," Refla said with his natural voice, dropping the accent he'd invented for himself all those years ago. "Part of me wished I could just tell you everything, somehow change your fate. I'm sorry that I couldn't. In the end it just wasn't worth the risk. Xavius had to be beaten, and if I tampered with how events played out, how I knew they were going to happen, then I risked the very real chance of ruining everything that you were fighting for.

"In all of my life I never faced a more difficult decision. I apologize for not being able to do more for you."

Refla breathed in the crisp morning air and stared blankly up at the sky, taking a moment to think. "Everyone thinks that your dead, of course. You're not, but that doesn't change the fact that you got some difficult times ahead of you. You'll wake up in an Ioka tent, together with Wroff, to find that the two of you are both alive and well. He got some bad burns from saving your life, and you lost quite a bit of blood from that sword wound. Still, you're alive, and after wholeheartedly believing that you were going to die, you never feel more thankful for that life.

"Later, you realize that the time stone is gone, dropped, perhaps sucked into the singularity that came so close to being your real grave. Without it you can never go home, never get back to your friends or to Gina. You'll think that you regret living then, and for a while you'll fall into a depression that'll come closer to finishing you off than that damned sorcerer ever did.

"It'll pass. You'll be indebted again to Wroff and his family for pulling you out of it. The Ioka save your life by getting you to realize that you should still have a life, and you'll realize that you were being a hypocrite. That even though with your last words to Gina you told her to live a happy life, that you were doing exactly what you had feared she'd do. Killing yourself with grief, and in doing so, you were dishonoring the memories of all those friends you'd never see again.

"In the end you accepted that you had a new life, and you chose to live it. It took time, but slowly you started over, a new life, and in some ways a new identity. The thing you didn't think would ever happen, happens, and you take a wife. Wroff's sister no less."

Smiling and shaking his head, Refla continued his conversation with the empty grave, "You have to give Rasha credit, she never gave up on you no matter how pathetic you insisted on being. I think you'll be happy to know that you hated yourself a little for taking a wife that wasn't Gina, no matter the circumstances. You'll also be glad to know that you do forgive yourself, and never again fall back into that black depression that almost claimed you before.

"In a way you get to live the life you always wanted. Being a famed warrior, having a family, both a wife and children, that you love. The circumstances, the people, places, and even times, are different, but your life is a pretty good one all the same.

"Then everything changes again. You find another time stone, not even knowing it's really the same one you had all those years ago, and however improbable, time travel is thrust upon you again. Needless to say, you have plenty of adventures both before and after you rediscover time travel, and in the end you finally make it back home, but not in the manner you ever imagined. When you do make your return to Truce, you happen upon yourself as a child, and come to a revelation that shocks you to your core.

"The day you realize who I really was, who you really are, is one of the strangest you'll ever remember. You talk through it with Rasha and both decide that there's really no choice. From then on, you both take new identities. No longer are you Flare and Rasha, but instead Refla and Shara. In some ways this twist of fate is painful, having to watch yourself grow, knowing that the life you want will never be, but it other ways it's wonderful. All those cherished memories get to be relived. Even if you might as well be another person entirely. Watching yourself grow up and mature is a most bizarre experience. Maybe not so odd as an old man talking to his own grave though."

Letting out a guffaw of laughter, Refla turned to look down the hill where three people had begun to make the climb to the cemetery. Gina, Taban, and Lara. The young women only now starting to show signs of their pregnancies. Refla scowled back at the empty grave. "Do ye realize how irresponsible it was to go and leave her with child when ye knew there was a chance ye wouldn't come back?" Refla growled at the tombstone, momentarily reverting back into the comfortable accent of the man he'd become. "I'd 'ave had a mind to slap ye in yer head with a warnin' to leave yer fool pants on, if it wasn't for things I've grown to suspect. Those time traveling heroes the Ioka tell stories about were lead by a young man Ayla used to think was your father, but after hearing his name, 'Crono', I became certain that he's actually your son, my son.

"And I couldn't very well prevent the birth of the man who'll save the future, no matter how irresponsible your choice was, besides, Gina seems truly happy, and she's got friends who'll help her out. I'll never be able to be a proper father to the boy, and in a way it feels more like I'm his grandfather. That'll be the role I play, and one that I think Gina will appreciate. Oh, and Lara's having a baby soon too, again I believe it'll be the girl named Lucca from the Ioka stories, though I'll not be certain until the two choose a name."

As his friends approached Refla grew silent. Together they would pay their respects to Flare, and honor the memory of the friend they all held dear.

Life would continue, as Flare had discovered it always did. Sometimes things didn't happen the way they were expected to, but they always continued to happen all the same. People would age, and change, and grow. They'd make mistakes, and share triumphs. There would always be days of celebration, along with days of tragedy. Time would pass, and people would live their lives, ultimately unaware of how those lives would turn out.

But even with all the uncertainty the future held, Flare knew one thing was for certain.

He had a new generation of heroes to train.

_*Author's Note: And here it ends. The fanfiction that's taken me far too long to complete, and for that I must apologize. Hopefully those who stuck through to the end enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Thank you all._


End file.
